Missing Moments
by iloveyoucalzona
Summary: Little moments of Callie and Arizona's life that we didn't see on Grey's. Some are set in the future (AU), and others are canon, given what we've seen already. I do not own these characters, and any words/phrases that sound familiar belong to Shondaland or to another show. I borrow.
1. Chapter 1

**Callie being there for Arizona during Herman's surgery. 11x14.**

* * *

"She's in my head," Arizona whispered. "But I'm..." she tried to hold back her tears, tilting her head back, hoping that gravity would work in her favor. "I am not ready for my head to be the only place that she exists."

She looked at Callie and allowed herself to be vulnerable for the first time in months. She was so scared and was just grateful that someone—anyone— was there. But, she was particularly grateful that it was Callie.

Without thinking, Callie slowly plodded over to the couch. She couldn't handle seeing Arizona like this. She felt this innate need to hold her, protect her, even though she knew she shouldn't.

She sat down, leaving a few inches between them. _I just need to be here_, she thought. _I'll just sit with her for a while_.

But, Arizona kept crying softly, and surprisingly, didn't move away.

Hesitantly, Callie grabbed her hand and enfolded it in her own, wanting to give the woman any comfort she could.

The second she felt Arizona's skin, she felt her body instantly relax. Every bone in her body went soft. She let out an unintentional sigh of relief.

Arizona felt it, too. In that first instant, just in that moment when they first touched, everything was okay. She relaxed into Callie, setting her head down on her shoulder.

_Is this okay_? Callie wondered with disbelief. She wasn't sure how to respond, but she knew what she wanted to do. After a moment of deliberation, she reciprocated and tilted her head onto Arizona's, caressing her hand with light, feathery circles.

They sat like that, silently, as the hours dragged on. Meredith had promised to page Callie if the surgery went south, but she hadn't yet, which was a good sign. It was getting late, though, and eventually, Callie wanted to pick up Sofia so that the little girl could sleep in her own bed. Maybe she could call the babysitter with the unibrow—what was her name? Claudia?—to pick Sof up and stay with her. Thinking Arizona was finally at peace and asleep, she moved to reach for her phone.

Arizona unwillingly clasped her hand. She hadn't been asleep. She was just thinking. Thinking about the reality of Nicole dying. Thinking about the decisions she might have to make. Thinking about how impossible those decisions were.

"Oh, hey," Callie whispered, sitting back down. "You're awake."

"Yeah," Arizona tried to smile. It didn't reach her eyes.

"I was just going to call unibrow girl to ask if she could pick up Sof. I don't want you to be here alone."

This earned Callie a small smile. "You mean Claudia?"

"Yeah, yeah." Callie chuckled.

"Hey, don't you have a surgery to get to soon?" Arizona asked.

Callie looked at the time on her pager. "Not until Herman's finishes. I'm waiting on the OR. So, until then, what do you need? Can I get you some food?"

Arizona made a face. There was no way she could hold anything down tonight. After a second, she shyly looked up at Callie, who was standing up now with her phone in hand. "If you're not busy, you being here helps. Just having someone here...it helps."

Callie pursed her lips. She wished there was more she could do. "Okay. I'll be right back. Just let me go make this call to _Claudia_." She pointedly enunciated the sitter's real name, earning another small smile from the blonde.

The two women had been anxiously sitting for another two hours before Meredith finally slid the lounge's door open.

Arizona and Callie quickly stood up, standing tall and preparing for the worst possible news.

Arizona clasped Callie's strong hand, terrified. Gently, Callie squeezed, letting her know she was there.

"Hey." Meredith paused. "Arizona, Amelia pulled it off. She did great. Herman's in recovery in room 215. She's in a coma, but she's alive."

"Oh my God," Arizona exclaimed, relieved. She finally let out the breath she had been holding and headed straight for her mentor's room. She wanted to be there when she woke up.

Meredith looked at Callie, whose eyes followed Arizona as she fled the room.

"Thank God," Callie exhaled.


	2. Comment

I hope you guys like what I've done so far! I'm NO fanfic writer. Frankly, I'm not very good at it. But I feel like no one's been writing, and I figured someone has to! So I hope it's okay. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Callie and Arizona's first kiss post-plane crash (following 9x06)

"I'm hoooome," Callie called as she opened the apartment door and set down Sofia, who she'd been holding. She expected Arizona to be in their room, mindlessly flipping through a magazine but not really looking at it. As usual, these days.

So, she was surprised when she looked up to see Arizona wheeling towards Sofia from the kitchen. "Hey, Sof!" She tousled her hair. The toddler giggled before running towards her blocks splayed across the living room rug. Man, that little girl adored her mama.

"Hey," Callie offered, happy but a little hesitant. She hadn't expected Arizona to be in a good mood. "What've you been up to?"

Arizona smiled and shrugged, then began turning her chair back towards the kitchen. She was so good with it now. "I thought you might be hungry, so I started on dinner."

Callie was shocked. Crazily enough, this was the most that Arizona had considered her feelings in months. Trying to downplay her delight, Callie neutrally replied, "It smells great. What can I do to help?"

Opening the oven, Arizona said, "Could you set the table? It's hard for me to reach the dishes." She surprised Callie yet again, as there were no traces of spite in her voice.

After Arizona turned off the stovetop fire and took the chicken out of the oven, she stole a peak at Callie, who had busied herself setting the small coffee table in the living room. It was easier for Arizona to sit down there than at one of the bar stools. _God, she's beautiful_, Arizona thought. She looked tired, though. She was noticeably worn down and didn't have her usual spark in her eyes and jump in her step.

Arizona mentally kicked herself. Callie must have looked like this the past few months. How had she only just noticed?

She cleared her throat. "Dinner's ready."

Callie smiled at her as she made her way back towards the kitchen to grab the food. Arizona glided toward Sofia to put her in her high chair. "Look at you, Sof! Your hair's getting so long!" The two-year-old smiled, loving the attention.

"Okay," Callie said as she sat on the couch, about a foot away from Arizona. "Shall we?"

The blonde made up a little plate for Sofia while Callie served the two of them.

As they began to eat, Arizona became thankful of the dinner in front of her. It allowed her to keep her mouth busy without having to fill the air with conversation. She wanted to talk to Callie, but she didn't know how. She was scared she would say something she couldn't take back.

Finally, Callie offered, "This is great. Thanks for cooking."

Arizona attempted a smile. "American Bake Off is on at nine."

Callie looked up. _Was that an invitation?_

"If you don't have to work early, we could watch it." Arizona hadn't directly asked Callie to do something, but it was pretty close.

"Okay," Callie nodded. The tension in the room could cut through bone, but at least they were talking.

After the two women cleared the table, Callie said, "I'm going to take little miss to bed. Come on, Sof." Callie picked Sofia up and began heading towards her room. Then, taking a chance, she paused by where Arizona was stationed in her wheel chair. She angled the little girl close to her mom. "Give Mama a kiss!"

Surprisingly, it was Arizona who leaned toward Sofia and kissed her little head. "Sleep well, beautiful," she whispered.

Callie walked the rest of the way smiling. As hard of a time as she was currently having with her wife, she knew that Arizona would always be devoted to their daughter. Quickly, she got Sofia ready for bed and headed back towards the front of the apartment where Arizona was sitting on the couch.

"She asleep?" Arizona was almost conversational. It had been so long.

"Sound asleep," Callie slowly lowered herself onto the couch, sitting right beside the armrest, as far from her wife as possible. She didn't want to push too hard. She didn't want to pop the little bubble they were in. She looked at her watch. 8:47 p.m. _Shit. What are we supposed to do for the next thirteen minutes?_

Callie looked around the room, trying to find something—_anything_— to focus on. She was so nervous. She didn't know what to talk to Arizona about. When she finally tried to sneak a peek at her, she saw that her wife was looking at her questioningly.

With a hint of humor, Arizona said, "Calliope, you don't have to sit quite so far. I'm not contagious."

Callie felt her face get hot. "What? No. I wasn't..."

A hint of Arizona's dimples surfaced as she watched her wife stumble over her words. "Seriously. I won't bite." She looked at Callie expectantly.

Callie didn't know what to do. _How much closer should I move? Will she be insulted if I just move a little closer? What if I push too far?_

Finally, Callie decided to just stand up and move to sit herself down right beside her wife. Not quite touching, but close. That way, there was still a little space between them.

Timidly, she sat right beside Arizona.

Instantly, both women could feel the warmth flow between them. Arizona's stomach hurt. _We're married! _she thought, _It's not supposed to be this hard._

"There's, um," Callie began softly. She cleared her throat. She couldn't her voice.

She felt Arizona looking at her. Actually looking at her, directly, without anger in her eyes. Expectant.

"There's this Chinese place I've been wanting to try." She risked a look back at Arizona. "Maybe we could order in tomorrow?"

Arizona smiled. "That sounds great."

They were quiet for a second, neither woman wanting to risk ending their cordial moment.

Callie was going crazy. Here she was, sitting only an inch away from her life, and it took every muscle in her body not to wrap her arms around the other woman and never let go. She wanted to hold her more than anything else in the world. She wanted to protect her forever.

Instead, she looked at her watch again and shivered. Six more minutes.

"Are you cold?" Arizona asked, with genuine concern in her voice. She reached beside her on the couch and handed Callie the throw blanket.

"Thanks," Callie smiled gratefully, laying it over her legs before offering some to Arizona. When the blonde nodded, Callie carefully laid half the blanket over her legs, careful not to touch her.

She hid her hands on either side of her torso beneath the thick blanket, not wanting Arizona to see that they were shaking.

Arizona did the same. God, did she want to reach out to her wife. She wanted to scream at her. She wanted to ask for forgiveness. She wanted to tell her everything was going to be okay. She wanted to beg her to stay.

Instead, she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. This would at least give the women something to look at. It might keep them from imploding.

Yet, even as the show started, Arizona couldn't focus. She felt Callie's warmth beside her. It had been something she hadn't allowed herself to miss, but now that she could feel it, she began to realize how much she had missed it. She looked down and began curling her fingers toward Callie's hand under the blanket. She felt a sob build in her chest. She needed this connection. Right now.

She continued moving her hand towards Callie's. When their skin finally made contact, Callie's breath hitched and she jumped. "Sor—" she began, thinking Arizona had touched her by mistake.

Bravely, Arizona intertwined their fingers. "Don't be," she smiled.

Callie's heart took off in her chest. It was such a simple action, but it meant everything.

For the next half hour, the two women pretended to watch the silly show as they sat there, merely enjoying each other's presence once again.

Arizona didn't turn off the TV until the credits finished rolling. She didn't feel ready for the night to end just yet. She leaned away from Callie so she could see her better.

"So," she began, "What now?"

Callie shrugged and offered a toothless smile. "Whatever you want." She would be happy just sitting here all night.

"I guess I should probably let you get some sleep." Everything was so tense and awkward. Arizona didn't know how to make things normal again.

"Guess so," Callie sighed, a little disappointed.

She offered Arizona a hand to help her stand up and grab her crutches. Surprisingly, Arizona accepted the gesture.

Wanting to give Arizona space, Callie began backtracking toward the front door. "Okay. So, I'll be at Mark's." She saw Arizona purse her lips.

She continued, "Just call if you need anyth—"

"Callie," Arizona breathed, barely audible.

"Mm?" Callie tried to make sense of the blonde's expression.

"Would you, um," she paused, "come here. For a second."

With trepidation, Callie slowly approached her wife, who was standing by the hallway with her crutches.

Callie paused, about three feet away from Arizona. _What is going on_?

Painfully slowly, Arizona lifted and lowered her squeaky crutches onto the hardwood floors, taking a step towards Callie. Again, squeak, squeak, step. Squeak, squeak, step. By her third step, she was inches from her wife. She could feel Callie's shallow breathing.

Gently, deliberately, Arizona leaned toward Callie's face, her head cocking slightly to the right. As she edged closer, she heard Callie's breath hitch.

Finally, ever so lightly, Arizona touched her wife's lips with her own, leaving a light, lingering kiss.

It was a kiss more chaste than any they had ever shared. But, still, it was a kiss.

It was progress.

It was progress.


	4. Chapter 4

**What happened after the shower scene in 9x03.**

* * *

"I can't even pee by myself!"

"Yeah, and it's a problem, because you now stink! This bathroom stinks!" Callie grabbed Arizona's wrists and heaved her into her arms, pushing them both into the shower.

"Get off of me! GET OFF OF ME! **GET OFF OF ME**!" Arizona exploded as she desperately pushed at Callie as the hot water soaked her through her hair and clothes. She couldn't stand Callie even touching her. Not like this. She was screaming. She was sobbing . Even she couldn't recognize herself.

"**THERE'S NO WHERE ELSE TO GO**! THIS IS MY LIFE NOW, TOO!"

Callie couldn't take this anymore. She broke down. With her eyes shut, head tilted back, lungs closed, she sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. How had her life come to this? How had her wife become _this_?

Finally, Arizona stopped fighting. She looked at her wife: the woman she had seen forever with. The woman she had hated for weeks. She saw that she wasn't the only victim.

Callie was in agony.

And as much as Arizona knew she should reach out to Callie, hold her, kiss her, do _something_, she couldn't. She was still so mad. She couldn't offer any comfort. Instead, she just looked at her broken wife: swollen eyes and soaked clothes. She looked at her and waited for her to stop.

Minutes later, when Callie ran out of tears and her sobs turned to small hiccups, she shut off the water. She couldn't look at Arizona. She was ashamed to have let down her guard, and she was scared to see the hatred in Arizona's piercing blue eyes. She couldn't take it. All she wanted was to hold her wife, but she knew that she couldn't.

Callie cleared her throat. "Come on," she slid her arm under Arizona's so that she could carry most of their weight. In the bathroom, she set Arizona down on the closed toilet and handed Arizona a towel. Without bothering to dry her soaked clothes, she quickly padded through their bedroom and grabbed a pair of Arizona's pajamas from a drawer and handed them to her. She grabbed the crutches by the bed and rested them against the counter beside Arizona.

Arizona looked up, wondering what her wife would do next. Callie was angry, but even then, she cared enough to make sure Arizona had what she needed.

Callie pursed her lips and shivered in her wet clothes. "I'm going to Mark's to go get dressed, and then I'm going to the meeting. There's leftover rice and chicken if you get hungry for dinner."

And, with that, Callie turned on her heels and headed out the front door without looking back.

She couldn't take anymore today.

After Arizona shrugged into her pajamas, she slowly made her way towards the bed; it had been her safe haven these past few weeks. Sleep (when she managed it) helped her forget that Mark was dead, and the blankets covered what was left of her mangled leg.

She tried to sleep but couldn't. Instead, she opened her laptop up to her video folder and clicked one.

* * *

_ "Who's the cutest little crack baby?" Callie cooed._

_ Old Arizona tipped her head back and laughed as she offered her finger to one of Sofia's tiny hands. The baby eagerly grabbed it._

_ Exasperated, Mark sighed from behind the camera. "Cal, you have got to stop calling her that."_

_ Callie jokingly glowered at him. "Mark, look at her! She's addictive. She's a crack baby!" She turned her face back to the smiling baby. "You're _my_ crack baby."_

_ Old Arizona put her arms out, wiggling her fingers. "My turn!"_

_ Glowing, Callie set the baby into her wife's waiting arms. _

_ "Hey, it was my turn!" Mark complained._

_ "Suck it, Mark," Old Arizona retorted. Then, "Hey, princess. You're the most beautiful thing in the whole world, you know that?" She kissed her daughter's little forehead._

_Callie smiled at her girls._

* * *

Suddenly, Arizona could only see their living room ceiling on the now overturned video camera screen. She heard Mark's footsteps heading towards the couch.

* * *

_ "Seriously," he said. "Sof wants to see her dada."_

_ "Hey," Callie warned, mediating, "wait your turn."_

* * *

Arizona stopped the video. She knew what came next. She had turned to peck Callie on the lips and Callie had put her arm around Arizona's shoulders, pulling her towards her.

Then, Mark had sneakily grabbed the baby and he and Arizona had started bickering, like they always did. The love was there, though. They had learned to love each other. They really had.

Arizona's breath quivered. How was Mark gone? And how was she still alive and so miserable?

She wanted to get back to that place. She wanted to let herself love Callie and let Callie love her, again. She wanted Mark back.

But, she couldn't do any of that, so she buried herself under the heavy comforter and waited for sleep to come.

It took much longer than it should.


	5. Chapter 5

**First "I love you" after the plane crash (set post 9x07/after AZ's first day back at work)**

* * *

After Callie and Arizona put Sofia down to bed, they made their way over to the couch. Since the plane crash, it had become a sort of buffer space for them.

Callie sat towards the middle of the couch and occupied herself with straightening the coasters on the coffee table while Arizona maneuvered from her wheelchair onto the other side of the couch.

Arizona knew that Callie was making a point of not watching her struggle to do this, and she was thankful for that. She was trying to be _a wife_ again, and she couldn't do that if Callie treated her like a patient.

When she finally got comfortable, Arizona smiled at Callie: a real, dimpled smile.

Callie grinned back, thankful that Arizona was in such a good mood. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Oh!" and jumped up, heading towards the kitchen.

"Calliope...?" Arizona inquired.

Callie didn't answer, bustling around. Eventually, she closed the fridge and plodded back towards Arizona with two wine glasses, a bottle of champagne, and a bottle opener in her hands.

Arizona just looked at her questioningly.

"Now that Sof is asleep, I would like to make a toast."

Arizona chuckled. "To what?"

"To you."

Arizona's eyes widened, and Callie scooted closer to her and pecked her cheek.

"Seriously?" Arizona asked. Callie was amazed by the light that had overcome her bright blue eyes.

"Yes, 'seriously.'" Callie smiled. "You kicked ass today. Everyone said so."

Arizona blushed. She was thankful she could do surgery, the thing she loved most, again. It had been a good day.

"And," Callie continued, "you got back up." She was smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. They were making so much progress.

Regretfully, she turned away from Arizona to hide her watering eyes and to pour the bubbly champagne.

She handed Arizona a glass.

"Cheers to you," Callie proclaimed, lifting her glass towards Arizona's.

"Wait," Arizona interjected, pulling her own glass away from Callie's.

Callie knit her eyebrows together.

"I, uh," Arizona looked down, pursing her lips. "I'd like to add something."

Callie looked at Arizona with worry in her eyes. Arizona reached for her wife's hand and intertwined their fingers.

"You've been so patient, Calliope. And strong," she paused. "Even though I've been taking stuff out on you."

"Hey, it's oka—"

"It's not," Arizona smiled sadly. "But I'm trying."

Callie just smiled at the blonde and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"So," Arizona took a deep breath and collected herself, sitting up straight and tall. "Cheers to you, too."

The two women gleefully clinked glasses and took several gulps of the wine, content to be having such a beautiful moment.

As Arizona began to feel the liquid coarse through her, leaving her veins warm and her bones effervescent, she leaned towards Callie, cradling her face in her hand.

Callie was a little taken aback at the touch; she had grown so accustomed to Arizona hating her. Still, she relished the contact, leaning into Arizona's cold hand.

A second later, Arizona was kissing her. It began gentle but quickly deepened. Callie rested her hand on Arizona's hip and allowed the blonde to lead. Callie was happy to go at whatever pace she needed.

A minute later, Arizona pulled back, though she rested her forehead on Callie's for a few seconds. Finally, she sat back, never tearing her eyes off Callie, who did the same.

Arizona dimpled shyly.

Callie beamed back.

"I love you," Arizona whispered.

Callie took a deep breath and held it. _Could this night be real?_

Grabbing Arizona's hand with both of her own, Callie laughed back tears, promising, "I love you, too."


	6. Chapter 6

**Elevator Kiss (a la AddiSam)- Set early in the relationship**

**Super short, fluffy, and simple! :) (those were the days...)**

* * *

"Stop that," Callie turned her head slightly towards Arizona, who was standing behind her.

"Stop what?" Arizona asked devilishly, taking a step closer to Callie.

"Looking at my ass," Callie chided, smiling. "You're looking at me like we just did dirty things to each other."

Arizona bit at the back of Callie's shoulder through her shirt, snaking her hands around the Latina's body and up her thighs. "But we _did_ just do dirty things to each other."

Callie started taking Arizona's eager hands off her, but Arizona pushed her against the elevator wall.

"This elevator's going to stop and th—"

Arizona planted kisses along Callie's jaw and down her neck, her hands roaming everywhere.

"Th- th- there's," Callie continued, struggling to focus, "there's going to be people! Sick, dying people!"

Arizona pushed her knee in between Callie's thighs.

"Mm!" Callie then pulled herself together, pushing her hands against Arizona's shoulders. "Seriously!"

"Fine then, Calliope." Arizona conceded to standing a few steps from Callie, hands in the air, pouting. "I'll be good."

The elevator beeped open. It was early and, surprisingly, no one was milling around in their vicinity.

"See?" Arizona challenged. "No sick, dying people to stare at us."

Callie pulled the blonde back into a tight embrace, leaning into kiss her. Right before she could, Arizona turned her head and strut out of the elevator.

"Wh—?!" Callie questioned.

Arizona turned and flipped her hair. "You missed your chance," she said, and winked.

"Ughhhh," Callie retorted, frustrated. Arizona had gotten her all worked up for nothing. Then, Callie grinned, thinking of how she'd pay her back later.

Arizona would be sorry she did that.


	7. Chapter 7

**Post-9x12 (Callie's dinner)****—**** Callie and Arizona "trying."**

* * *

After Arizona finished washing up in the bathroom, she made her way towards the bedroom, where she found Callie sitting on her side of the bed, reading.

"What are you reading?" Arizona asked conversationally as she sat on the edge of the bed and removed her prosthetic.

"Nicholas Sparks..." Callie responded sheepishly.

"Again?!" Arizona rolled her eyes.

"Hey! His books are good."

"Uh huh." Arizona was unconvinced.

"Seriously!"

Arizona just laughed and quickly hid her legs under the blankets, scooting down the bed to lie down comfortably.

Callie put her book down on the bedside table and switched off the lamp. She got situated lying down and let out a content sigh. Through the darkness, she saw Arizona turn her head and smile at her.

"Tonight was fun," Arizona offered. "I was pleasantly surprised."

Callie mirrored Arizona's new position, turning on her side and facing her full on. "Right? I can't believe Mer's pregnant. I still remember her being a horny, hormonal intern," Callie laughed at the memory, and Arizona smiled. Just seeing Callie happy made her feel happier.

"It was a good day," Arizona offered optimistically.

"Yeah?" Callie looked apprehensive.

"You know what would make it perfect, though?" Arizona flirted. "Trying some more."

"Trying...?"

In lieu of a verbal answer, Arizona placed her open palm on the skin under Callie's shirt, on her hip, and drew her in for a long, lingering kiss.

The kiss began gently, with pillowy lips becoming reacquainted with pillowy lips, and soon, Arizona deepened it: sliding her tongue past Callie's soft, open lips and allowing her wife to do the same. Arizona traced the skin of Callie's back with her fingertips, and Callie reached her hand under Arizona's shirt to draw lines on her stomach with the pads of her fingers. Tonight, Arizona didn't stiffen at the touch, and Callie relished the feeling of her soft, warm, white skin.

As their kissing continued, Callie pulled Arizona closer to her, earning her an inadvertent moan from the blonde.

Arizona felt her cheeks grow hot. She was always vocal during sex and intimacy, but it had been so long.

Callie smiled into the kiss. "Trying is fun."

Arizona responded by slowly lifting Callie's shirt up towards her arms.

Callie paralleled Arizona's actions, lifting the blonde's shirt and simultaneously assaulting her neck with her tongue, hopefully distracting her from her potential unease.

Moments later, both of their breasts and nipples were on display.

Callie's mouth morphed into an "O," as she unbashedly stared at the beautiful view before her.

"What?" Arizona looked down self-consciously. "Am I— Are you— Sh— Sh— Should I put it back on?"

Callie's mouth dropped. "No! You should _never_ put it back on," she paused, taking her wife in. "You are so, so beautiful."

Arizona blushed and, without any self-control, Callie moved her hands to cup Arizona's breasts, kneading them and tweaking her nipples between her strong fingers. Arizona tipped her head back in pleasure, her blonde hair falling all over both of them.

Soon, her hands were everywhere, re-exploring Callie's caramel skin and running her nails down her back. Their lips eagerly continued reacquainting, until Callie began working her lips lower, down Arizona's neck, along her collarbones, down her breasts...

Suddenly, Arizona stiffened.

"Wh— Are you okay?" Quickly, Callie looked up at Arizona, stilling her kissing and her active hands.

"Yeah, I'm good," Arizona whispered softly. She wasn't ready to go any further, but she was embarrassed. She hid her face behind her hands.

"Hey," Callie attempted to grab Arizona's attention, lifting her hands from her face and holding them in her own. When Arizona finally looked up at her, Callie soothed, "Trying tonight was fun, yeah?"

"Yeah." Arizona shyly dimpled.

"And it'll be even _more_ fun tomorrow, so don't make that face!" She ran her fingers down Arizona's arm reassuringly. Then, she opened her own arms, "But for now, come here."

Arizona, thankful that Callie wasn't disappointed that "trying" hadn't led to "succeeding," all but lunged into her wife's waiting arms, before turning her back to her and allowing herself to feel protected by the larger woman. In that position, with Arizona in her arms, Callie allowed herself to feel safer, too.

"I love you." Arizona grabbed Callie's hand and intertwined their fingers. She kissed her hand.

"I love you, too." Callie responded, burrying her face in Arizona's flower-scented hair.

And until the sun (and a very awake and hyper Sofia) interrupted their bubble of bliss, that's how they stayed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Extension of scene in 8x23.**

* * *

Arizona could not believe this was happening to her again.

Arizona could not believe this was happening to her.

Again.

She couldn't think, couldn't function, couldn't see Nick anymore today, so she stood in the cold rain outside of the hospital, grateful that the sky was sobbing with her.

"Has anyone seen Arizona?" Callie asked a group of residents.

"Robbins? Yeah, I saw her in the lobby. I think she was heading outside," Karev offered.

Callie raced down to the first floor. She would do anything to take this pain away from her wife. She would do anything to help. Arizona had always been the strong one, and it killed Callie to see her so heartbroken.

She reached the double doors and saw the blonde a few steps outside, likely freezing in the pouring rain.

Callie walked up behind her. "Hey. I just checked in on him, and his vitals are stable...he's sleeping."

Arizona finally turned around, tears running down her cheeks. She looked at Callie. "Don't ever leave." It felt like everyone in her life was always leaving her. Tim, Nick...

"What?" Callie had not been expecting this; of course she would never leave! They were married and in love!

Again, and more decidedly this time, Arizona repeated, "Don't. Ever. Leave."

Callie moved her arms up to Arizona's shoulders, trying to soothe her wife in any way she could.

"Promise me that right now."

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Arizona shook her head, trying to ward off incoming tears. "After my brother...I thought...I can't do this, ever again. I won't. Do this. Again. And, now, here I am..."

"Okay, whatever you can't do, I will. I'm here, and that's how this works, okay?"

Arizona nodded, temporarily reassured by Callie's promise. At least she'd always have her wife.

"Come here." Callie pulled the blonde into a hug, not caring that the rain was soaking through her lab coat, scrubs, and shoes. Arizona had always been there for her, and the least she could do was the same.

They stood there for a long time, as Callie waited for Arizona's sobs to fade so that they could go inside and warm up. Finally, Arizona took a deep breath. She had no tears left.

Callie stood back and looked at her. "What can I do? Do you want to go see him?"

Arizona shook her head no.

"Let's put on some warm, dry scrubs at least. Come on." She grabbed Arizona's hand and squeezed it, leading her back inside.

Arizona followed unthinkingly, gliding through the hospital like a ghost. She was overcome with grief. She was. Overcome. By Grief.

Callie grabbed them new scrubs from a closet and headed towards an empty on-call room. "Here," she handed the smaller pair to Arizona, trying to smile reassuringly.

"Thanks."

They quickly changed and headed back out; they still had patients to see and charting to do.

"Hey, Dr. Robbins," Hunt stopped as he passed them. "Since Karev is going to Hopkins, do you have any preferences for potential fellows?" He was clearly oblivious to the state she was in.

"He's _WHAT_?" Nope. No way. Karev was supposed to stay.

"He just told me this afternoon...you didn't know?" Callie saw him mentally kick himself.

"Huhhh uh uh huh." Arizona muttered nonsensically, shaking her head. She couldn't even speak she was so angry. Without thinking, she turned on her heel, stalking away to track down Alex and give him a piece of her mind.

"Sorry," Callie muttered apologetically to Owen before running after her hurried wife.

"Arizona," she reasoned, "I know you've had a really bad day, so right now may not be the best time to..."

"You son of a bitch, I had to hear it from Hunt! What, you couldn't even be man enough to tell me yourself?!" Arizona screamed.

"Sweetie..." Callie turned to Karev, "I'm sorry, she's had a horrible day..."

Arizona waved her off, "No, you ungrateful crap-dog!"

Alex, defensively, "It's Hopkins! You went there, you of all people should know that..."

"You are a miserable, miserable bastard."

"Robbins, they want me. They really want me."

Arizona felt her heart shatter into a million tiny smithereens. Great, one more person in her life is leaving her. One more brother figure. How could this be happening, again? She mouthed _oh my g..._She couldn't even speak. "You're actually _going_?"

"Can we talk about this when I get back?" Alex needed to catch a plane; he had no time for lectures.

"No!" Arizona grabbed the chart from her protégé.

"What are you doing?!"

"No, you are NOT going to Boise, because you no longer represent this hospital!"

"Oh, give me a break!"

"Seriously! Just go! Get out!"

"Oh, grow up! This is crap!"

"Fine! You know what, forget the chart! Forget the chart! Go see if they need help in the clinic!"

"Oh, give me a b—"

"Oh my god!" Arizona wanted him out of her sight. She couldn't fight anymore.

"I've been prepping for this surgery for DAYS!"

"Well, it's mine now!"

"This is crap!" Why was Robbins so mad at him?

"I'm serious, go see if they need help in the clinic! You are _not_ going to Boise! GO!"

"FINE!" Shaking his head, Alex stormed away and down the stairs towards the clinic. This really wasn't how he had wanted to say goodbye.

Arizona turned towards Callie, still emanating anger. "Stupid, useless, selfish, stupid..." she began, muttering to herself.

"Hey," Callie grabbed Arizona by the shoulders. "Are you sure you want to go do this, tonight? You don't need this...it's already been a rough day. Why don't we just go home and..."

"Callie," Arizona huffed. She took a deep breath. "This is _exactly_ what I need right now. Surgery's a good distraction."

Callie rubbed her shoulders and looked at her, waging her answer. "Okay."

Arizona pecked Callie's lips. "We'll only be gone for a day hours, and I'm going to need another distraction when I get home tomorrow night..." Arizona smiled suggestively.

"You're on," Callie grinned. "I'll be waiting."

Arizona kissed Callie again, longer this time. "Tell Sof goodnight for me."

* * *

**Aw man, the poignant irony of it all, knowing what comes next...I rewatched the plane crash episode to prepare for this, and now I'm crying in my bed.**

**I realize that most of this was just a summary of the actual scene, but I hope you guys liked my little bits of insight! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Arizona finding out Nick died.**

* * *

"Hey, sorry we're late!" Callie called as she struggled through the apartment door, carrying Sofia and her bags. "Arizona?"

The lights were on, but the blonde was nowhere in sight.

"Arizona?" Callie called again, setting Sofia and her stuff down. "Where are you?"

"Here!" Arizona's response was mangled. It was coming from their bedroom.

"Come here, baby," Callie picked up Sof again and hurried toward her wife. She quickly opened the door.

There was Arizona, huddled under the blankets just as she had been so many times before. She looked up at Callie, and her face was white. She looked so worn, like a hundred-year-old leather-bound notebook ripping at the seams.

"What's wrong?" Callie quickly and unthinkingly headed towards her wife, needing to comfort her. She put her hand on the blonde's arm.

Arizona sniffled. "Nick's sister called." She struggled to take in a shaky breath. "Nick's gone."

Callie let out her breath, finally understanding. She kicked off her heels and rushed to her the other side of the bed to have a better position to hold a now sobbing Arizona. As she sat down, she put Sofia down between them. "Sof, give Mama a hug!" The toddler struggled to stand up on the bed and eagerly wrapped her little arms around Arizona's neck, causing another wave of tears to fall from the blonde's eyes.

"Mama," the baby babbled.

"Hey, Sof," Arizona smiled and hugged the little girl back, feeling her entire body relax as she held her. "I missed you." Seeing her baby didn't completely ease her pain, though, and she made eye contact with Callie, revealing how she really felt. She was utterly heartbroken.

"Shh, shh shh," Callie soothed, wrapping her arms around her girls. She pulled Arizona into her, allowing the blonde to cry into her chest. Callie ran her fingers through her hair and lifted her up, so that her wife was practically in her lap.

Eventually, as Arizona's sobs lessened, she whispered, "I should have been there. I was _supposed_ to be there." She couldn't stand to see Callie's pity-filled eyes, so she resituated Sofia, cradling her to her chest instead. The limp little girl had fallen fast asleep in her momma's arms.

Arizona smiled. Sof was a perfect little miracle, with Callie's hair and eyes and Mark's defined nose. She could've sworn that the little smile that grazed the baby's lips looked like her own, though. Somehow, she had inherited both Arizona's stubbornness and her love for life (well, Arizona's past love for life. Still, it was coming back to her more and more every day.). Sofia was such a happy little kid. She made Arizona want to be happy again, too.

Callie brushed Sofia's hair back, and the two women just took a minute to ogle at their perfect little sleeping girl while Callie rubbed Arizona's back.

Arizona finally continued at barely a whisper, "I promised. I promised him I'd be there."

She looked at Callie, gauging her reaction. Gently, Callie tried, "Sometimes, we make promises we can't keep."

They looked at each other without blinking, Callie awaiting Arizona's surely explosive reaction, and Arizona pausing to allow herself to think logically rather than lash out. She and Callie had come so far these past few months. She didn't want to say something that would take them backwards. She wanted to move forward.

"Yeah," she said neutrally, but there was infinite weight to her words.

Callie lifted her eyebrows. She had expected a different response. "It's not your fault that you weren't there. You would have been if you could."

Arizona sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "Yeah."

She continued, "I just can't believe he's gone. Everyone's," she paused, "gone." She thought of Tim, Nick, _Mark_...

"Not everyone," Callie pulled the blonde towards her again, and Arizona let her. "We're still here."

Arizona sniffed.

"You, me, and Sofia are still here, and _we are not going anywhere_."


	10. Chapter 10

**Arizona and Sofia bonding (late season 10)**

**Super fluffy and stuff. Please comment with any scenes you'd like to see! I'm running out ideas :)**

* * *

"Mommy's not going to be home until super late, so what do you want for dinner, Sof?" Arizona made (primarily one-sided) conversation with her toddler as they walked through the door of their new house.

Arizona turned on the lights and sighed. There were still overflowing boxes everywhere, and she didn't have the energy to unpack anymore tonight.

Turning back to the little girl in her arms, Arizona continued: "Should we have...ice cream?"

Sofia clapped her hands together excitedly. She loved ice cream.

Arizona giggled at the happy little girl. "No, silly! We can't have ice cream for dinner! How about...some potatoes and veggies? And maybe some ice cream for dessert?" She put Sofia down on the rug. "Yes, that's what we'll do," Arizona continued, mostly to herself this time.

While Sofia flipped through a book on the floor of the living room, Arizona began preparing dinner: boiling potatoes, roasting vegetables, and preparing a salad. Suddenly, inspiration struck: "Sof!"

The girl looked up.

"What if you and me have a tea party dinner?" Sofia quickly and eagerly agreed and they laughed, excited now. "Okay. One sec."

Arizona finished cooking and set the table with their nice little China set.

"Come sit, sweetie." Sofia bumbled over to her seat and sat down. Arizona put a full plate in front of her and handed her a tea cup filled with milk.

"Careful, okay? This could break."

"Otay, Mama." Sofia held the dainty cup with her two little hands, both of her pinkies up.

"Look at you!" Arizona praised. "Such a classy little lady." She took point from her daughter and sipped her own tea with her pinky up. "Let's eat!"

Arizona and Sofia were still giggling over their serendipitous tea party dinner when Callie walked through the door.

"Hey..." Callie greeted them quizzically, but she was smiling. "What'd I miss?"

"Tea party!" Sofia shrieked.

"No way! You had one without me?!" Callie feigned a sad pout, so Sofia scrambled out of her chair with her tea cup to give her mommy a taste.

Callie knelt down beside her daughter, smiling. "Are you sharing your tea with me?"

Sofia eagerly nodded, happy to share.

"Aw, thank you!" Callie pretended to take a sip. "Yummy!"

She risked a peek at Arizona, who was beaming at their sweet interaction.

Callie kissed Sofia's cheek and led her back towards the table. "Come on, baby. Let's finish dinner."

Finally, Callie crossed to the other side of the table and greeted Arizona, bending down and pecking her lips. She smiled at her tenderly. "You're amazing."

Arizona blushed. She was so thankful that she and Callie were finally good again.

"And you're definitely beating me at being 'Best Mom of the Year,' so that's hardly fair."

Arizona laughed pridefully. "Sit," she patted the chair beside her. "There's lots of food, and I want to hear about your day."

Callie was exhausted. Relieved to be home at last, she plopped into her chair with a satisfied, "Ahhh." She began rubbing Arizona's back affectionately as she took a sip of water.

"My day," she began, "Just got a whole lot better."


	11. Chapter 11

**Arizona waking up after the amputation (9x02)**

* * *

After Derek's surgery, Callie raced to go check on Alex. Clutching a mask over her face, she walked into the OR.

"Alex," she began, "How's it going?"

"Good," Alex replied, not looking up from his handiwork. "Her vitals are holding steady now."

Callie sighed. "It was the leg."

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "It was the leg."

"Can I help with anything?" Callie could barely breathe. This was not supposed to happen. She had promised Arizona that it wouldn't happen. They were happy! They were in love! This wasn't supposed to happen!

Finally, Alex looked up at the attending. He took in Callie's pale face and crazed eyes. Allowing Callie to help him would not be in Arizona's best interest right now.

So, finally, he replied, "I'm almost done. You can stay here and watch, though. If it makes you feel any better."

Callie just nodded, never tearing her eyes away from Arizona's sedated face. "Okay."

Alex continued operating, being more careful and precise than he ever had before. This woman was his mentor, after all. And she was in this situation because of him.

Eventually he looked up at Callie and nodded. To his team, he said: "That's it, people. Let's get her into recovery." Then, he walked towards the scrub room, guiding Callie along with him.

"It'll be okay," he reassured Callie. "She's good now, Torres; she'll wake up."

Callie barely whispered, "I promised her."

"What?" Alex was confused.

"Alex. I _promised_ her we wouldn't amputate. I promised her that she'd keep her leg."

Alex's stomach dipped. _Shit_.

Finally, Callie made eye contact with her friend. "What do I do?!" Her eyes were darting around psychotically.

Alex just looked at her. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to answer her. "Come on," he squeezed her arm. "Let's go wait for her to wake up."

Alex led the fear-stricken Callie towards Arizona's room. When they reached the doorway, he left. He couldn't be there when Arizona woke up. He couldn't. She already hated him enough.

Callie sat down in the chair beside Arizona's bed. She grabbed her wife's cool hand and traced soothing circles on it with her thumb.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the still-sedated blonde. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Then, she waited. She waited for her wife to wake up and realize what Callie had done. She bounced her knees anxiously, waiting, waiting, waiting. She thought: Arizona had already been through so much this week. How could _this_ happen to her, too? How was this fair? The woman Callie loved was hurting, and she was about to hurt even more. The fact that Callie would be the root of some of that pain had enough weight on her heart to bury her alive.

Minutes later, Arizona stirred. The anesthesia was wearing off. She was waking up.

Callie's eyes bulged. This was it. She would have to tell Arizona what had happened and hope that it would be okay, hope that she would see reason.

Arizona inhaled deeply. "Hey," she croaked.

"Hey," Callie tried to smile back. Her heart was racing.

"Here," Callie released the blonde's hand to grab the cup of water from the bedside table. She angled the straw towards her mouth. "Drink."

Arizona eagerly took several gulps of the cold water before she lied back on the pillow, exhausted. She was trying to make sense of what was going on. What had happened? She couldn't remember anything.

As she felt the water flow through her throat and chest, she looked at Callie and smiled. "You are so, so beautiful."

Callie balked. No. She. No. She. She. couldn't. She couldn't be saying that. Not now, when her whole world was about to fall apart. Her wife's biggest nightmare was about to be realized, and it was Callie's fault.

Arizona couldn't understand her wife's expression. She looked so wound up. "What happened, anyway? Why am I..."

Callie grabbed her hand and squeezed. This was it. "Well, Alex checked in on you and you started crashing...and...nothing we did worked, so we had to operate. We—"

Before she could explain further, Arizona hastily extracted her hand from Callie's and attempted to sit up, throwing her blankets to the side to reveal her legs.

Except, instead of seeing the two toned legs she'd come to recognize as her own, she was greeted with just one...along with a pink, swollen, bandaged stump.

She let out a mangled cry. She sounded like a dying animal or like a wailing mother whose child had just died. It was a cry so agonizing that it haunted Callie for weeks, replaying in her head constantly.

"You— You—," Arizona cried, "You—," she couldn't even finish her sentence. She couldn't even breathe. She felt herself having a panic attack, too overcome with shock and grief and _pain_ to even breathe. "You—," she tried again.

Quickly, Callie's arms were around her. She climbed into the hospital bed behind Arizona and pulled her into her arms.

"I'm so sorry, Arizona," she held her sobbing wife as tightly as she could. "I tried everything. I— I did everything I could. You were crashing. You were dying! I had no other choice." She felt tears fall from her own eyes. She would do anything. Anything. To take away Arizona's pain. She wished this could have been her instead. But, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't give Arizona her leg. All she could do was hold her and hope that she'd understand.

Arizona continued crying, and Callie realized how small her wife was. She was...little. She had never seemed like that way before, always bossing Callie around and being badass and strong. But now, she was emaciated from barely having eaten in days, she was cut up and scabbed due to plane shrapnel, one of her limbs was gone, and she was collapsing—imploding entirely— in Callie's arms. She was so...breakable.

All Callie could do was wait for Arizona's tears to subside and deal with what came next. She could only hope that her wife could grow strong again, now that the infection wasn't killing her.

"Dr. Torres," a nurse paused at the room's door, scared to go any further. "Dr. Shepherd is awake. He's asking for you."

Callie nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you," she mouthed. Taking his cue, the nurse hurried away from the room towards the nurse's station. Slowly, Callie detached herself from Arizona. "Arizona, sweetie, I'll be right back, okay?" She tried to make reassuring eye contact with her wife.

Arizona couldn't look at her.

"I'm giving you more painkillers," she began, messing with the wires and electrical contraptions beside her bed. "You're overdue for some morphine."

Arizona didn't respond. She didn't even acknowledge Callie.

Hesitantly, Callie concluded, "Okay. I just have to make sure that Derek's okay. I'll be right back." She slowly backed towards the door, scared for what she'd be met with when she got back.

She ran toward Derek's room, which was down the hallway. She wanted to get back to her wife as soon as possible.

"Derek!" she beamed as she walked into the room. "How was your nap?"

Derek grunted. "I've had better. How'd the surgery go?"

"Great," Callie tried to smile. "You were a real trooper. Now we just wait to see if the nerve takes. I'm optimistic, though."

From beside Derek's bed, Meredith piped up, "How's Arizona?"

Derek looked between his wife and Callie. "What happened?!" He had seen Arizona during those four days in the forest. She had barely made it. And now...Had she died?

"Um," Callie began, before crumpling, folding in on herself. She couldn't be strong anymore.

"Callie..." Derek consoled, wanting to reach out to the woman. "Is she...?"

"No," Meredith answered, looking at Callie worriedly. "She's alive. Alex had to amputate, though."

"What?!" Derek looked at Callie, who nodded, confirming Meredith's statement. "Torres, go be with her! I'm fine. Go!"

Callie nodded, backing towards the door. "Your surgery went great, Derek," she assured him. "I'll come back as soon as I can go check on you."

Derek and Meredith nodded gratefully. "Go," Derek urged again. "Be with your wife."

And with that, Callie finally hurried back towards Arizona, not thinking of anything but of how much better everything would be once she was in her arms. Callie wanted to protect her forever. She wanted to make sure that nothing bad ever happened to her again.

Unthinkingly, Callie stepped through the door to Arizona's room. She could only think of holding her wife and talking to her; that was what she needed. "Hey, sorry about that, I just—" she began. She looked up at Arizona. The color drained from Callie's face. The look in Arizona's eyes was not what she had been expecting. It scared her.

Arizona's mouth was a hard, metal knife. Her eyes were still. Focused. Her face was rigid.

She was angry.

Callie stopped short. She couldn't finish her sentence, and she couldn't walk any closer. She could feel that an invisible wall had gone up. She didn't have to power to break it down. It was made of clear steel.

Coldly, Arizona declared, "You broke your promise."


	12. Chapter 12

**Extended 10x15 scene. Focus on reconnection.**

**WARNING: this is smutt_y_!**

**OTHER WARNING: I have no freakin' idea how to write smut. I tried.**

* * *

"Tonight was fun," Arizona smiled from where she was sitting in bed. She looked so happy and carefree, like she had earlier in their relationship. After a night of skating on the sidewalk, she was all dimples. She'd never been happier. "Thank you, Callie."

Callie grinned back. "It was, wasn't it? I missed this. Us laughing together, you know?"

Arizona nodded. "'Me, too."

Callie pulled down the covers on her side of the bed, sitting beside Arizona. "We need to have more fun together."

Arizona turned her head to meet Callie's eyes. Trying to keep the mood light, she offered, "We should get you and Sof some wheelie sneaks, too. That'd be fun."

Callie laughed. "Please! I wouldn't be able to keep up with you two!"

Arizona laughed, too, appreciating Callie's casual but meaningful compliment. Then, she yawned unwillingly, making Callie yawn, too.

"It's been a long day," Callie agreed, thinking back to the day's stressful events. She turned to shut off the lamp and situated herself in bed, turning over to mirror Arizona's position as they faced each other.

"I've missed you," Arizona said candidly; saying this made her vulnerable, because she still wasn't sure if she had the _right_ to say it; after all, _she_ had been the one who cheated.

Callie didn't pick a fight though. She just took a deep breath and nodded, "Me too."

A second later, their lips were on each other, with neither woman knowing who had initiated the kiss. All they knew was that they were hungry for each other: for _all_ of each other.

Tonight, they had remembered the spark that drew them to one another emotionally, but now, they needed to feel that connection physically, too.

Tonight's physical intimacy was already better than the last few times had been. Since Arizona had moved back in, they'd had sex, sure, but it had been different than in the past. Callie had told Arizona that she had forgiven her, but then, the sex was so _hard_. Callie seemed detached, hurt, and angry, biting too hard and going too fast; it was unlike her, since Arizona was typically more dominant. It was almost as if Callie had been trying to punish Arizona through their sex. And Arizona had let her. What could she do? Callie was still angry. Arizona had cheated.

But, finally, tonight, they had actually communicated again. They had been honest with one another, and they had forgiven one another.

There were no traces of guilt or anger left on their lips, just a perfect mixture of love and desire.

Eventually, their kissing deepened, as Arizona reached under Callie's shirt to knead her soft breasts, rolling her nipples between her cool fingers.

Callie's breath caught as she relished the feeling of her wife's skilled fingers against her skin. She pulled Arizona into her and began working at lifting her camisole above her head; Arizona quickly followed suit, and soon, their upper bodies were naked, and they were lying skin to skin: white chocolate and caramel.

Callie brought her hands up to Arizona's breasts, paralleling her wife's actions. "Mmmm," Arizona moaned approvingly. Callie unconsciously bit her lip; nothing turned her on more than hearing the little sounds her wife made during sex.

Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie's body and flipped them over, taking charge. She straddled Callie's hips and lowered herself onto the bigger woman, breast to breast. She put all her weight on her wife and gripped Callie's body to help her keep balanced on top.

Callie lifted her head to kiss her. Arizona happily lowered her head to meet her halfway.

"Hey," Arizona whispered playfully into the kiss.

"What's up?" Callie joked back, as she moved her hands down to grab the blonde's ass.

Arizona began leaving wet kisses along Callie's jaw as she continued teasing her breasts with her hands. Slowly and methodically, she moved her tongue lower, as she wrapped her mouth around one of Callie's nipples. She felt it harden at her touch and smiled confidently, loving the way Callie's body always responded to her. She continued lolling her tongue over Callie's cushiony breast for several minutes before moving on to give the other one equal attention.

As Arizona kissed her way down her wife's body, Callie felt the fuzziness in her abdomen build, almost bordering on pain. God, Arizona was the only person who could make her feel this way without even having even gotten near the lower half of her body.

Arizona looked up at Callie as she moved her tongue down her stomach, towards where Callie wanted her most, and Callie bucked her hips, hoping to encourage her to hurry.

Arizona slowly pulled Callie's pajamas and old underwear down her legs, leaving her completely exposed. She took a second to look the Latina up and down, just appreciating the piece of art that was Callie Torres.

Callie looked at Arizona looking at her, completely ensconced by the blonde's lustful expression and dark blue eyes. Waiting for what she'd do next.

Arizona lowered her head, but instead of putting her tongue where Callie needed it most, she kissed Callie's inner thigh from her knee to her center, where she only left the lightest kiss right on her bundle of nerves.

Callie was going to explode.

Again, Arizona traced her tongue down Callie's other inner thigh, painfully slow.

Callie could feel herself dripping she was so turned on. She whimpered, "Ari—"

Before she could finish, Arizona reached her destination, circling Callie's clit with her tongue. "Yessss," Callie bucked her hips, and Arizona finally gave in and inserted two fingers into her. Callie moaned unintentionally, already panting.

She grabbed the blonde's hair to hold her in place as Arizona worked up a steady rhythm, keeping her tongue on Callie's clit and her two fingers working magic inside her; they were bent just enough to hit that spot that made Callie crazy.

The explosions in Callie's body were building and building, growing and growing, getting her closer and closer to a release. As her muscles began clenching and tightening, Arizona moaned into her, and the vibration just about drove Callie to come. "Arizona," Callie breathed...

And then, suddenly, Arizona extracted her fingers and pulled her tongue away. Surprised, Callie began objecting, but the blonde quickly shushed her.

"Uh uh. Watch." she instructed. From her horizontal position, Arizona moved her hands from her breasts, down her stomach, to the waistband of her shorts and underwear as she lifted her hips pulled them off her legs painfully slow.

Callie's eyes widened. She hadn't seen Arizona be so confident and brazen about her body since before the plane crash. But, man, Callie was thankful she was now. She was hot. She was perfect.

Again, Arizona lowered herself onto Callie's body as she straddled her wife's hips. She kissed Callie passionately, and Callie's hands wandered over her back, pulling her impossibly closer.

Slowly, Arizona lowered her thigh in between each of Callie's. "Sorry I stopped before," Arizona whispered teasingly.

Callie couldn't focus. It took all the strength she had not to rub herself against Arizona's muscular thigh and just come right then and there. "It's...okay..." Callie managed to croak.

"I was having _a lot_ of fun down there," Arizona smirked. "But I want to be able to see you when you climax. I want you to see me." She looked at Callie pointedly and ran her tongue along her lips.

Callie released a guttural moan at her words, pulling Arizona's face towards her again, kissing her wife deeply then biting her lower lip.

Arizona couldn't wait any longer. She couldn't go slow. She needed Callie. She needed a release. She rolled her hips, pushing herself into Callie's leg and pressing her leg into Callie's center. She felt herself easily slip up and down Callie's thigh, and she relished the feeling of Callie's hot wetness on her as she did the same. Slowly, the two women worked up a rhythm, rubbing their bodies against each other slowly with rolling motions at first, but soon, bodies wet and sticky, they jerkily slipped against each other, faster and harder as they approached climax. They continued kissing breathlessly, nipping at lips and moaning into each other's mouths, keeping eye contact the entire time.

Callie traced circles around Arizona's aroused nipples, and Arizona dug her nails into Callie's back. "Mmm," she moaned, "Calliope."

In between kisses, Callie panted, "You...are so...sexy right now, and...you are so—" she was unable to finish her thought, as she arched her back and pushed herself harder into Arizona, letting out a high-pitched moan. "Ariz— I'm—"

Callie's head fell back and her eyes shut tight as her body tensed and trembled with pure, uncensored pleasure; Arizona let out a tumble of loud moans, climaxing as she saw Callie completely let go. She continued pushing herself into Callie, riding out her multiple orgasms as her body convulsed and released a new flood of fluid that spread down Callie's thigh. Callie grabbed her ass and helped her keep up her rhythm, riding out the waves of pleasure.

Finally, both women collapsed, exhausted, and Arizona fell lazily beside Callie, completely breathless. Neither woman said anything as they waited for their heartbeats and breathing to slow.

Callie leisurely looked towards Arizona, reaching an arm out and smoothing her hair away from her face. Arizona smiled a grateful and tired "thanks," and Callie pulled Arizona into her. Their bodies still fit together perfectly, with Arizona's head tucked into Callie's chest, Callie's head resting on Arizona's, and their legs weaving together in a loose knot of limbs.

They lay contently together for a while, not wanting or needing to fill the silence with words.

After a while: "Calliope?" Arizona began.

"Mmm?" Callie still couldn't even see straight. God, even to this day, she couldn't keep up with this woman.

"This counted as 'having fun together,' right?"

Callie laughed. "Definitely."

"Then I think you're right," Arizona bit the skin between Callie's breast and shoulder. "We _do_ need to have more fun. Every chance we get."


	13. Chapter 13

**What happened when Arizona got home after the plane crash. (9x02)**

**Someone wanted me to write about this, but I actually had a tough time with it. Not sure if it makes any sense, but I tried to be realistic and hope you guys think so, too. Let me know what you think! :)**

* * *

Callie had barely left the conference room in four days.

Callie. Had barely. Left. The conference room. In four. Days.

She couldn't. She couldn't do anything else. Her wife and best friend were on a plane. They were on a plane. And it crashed. They were on a plane and it crashed and they might be dead. There was a very real possibility that they were dead. Her wife and her best friend might be dead. Sofia's father and one of her mothers might be dead.

This was her reality, so she had barely left the conference room in four days.

Neither had Owen. Or Alex. Or Richard. They were all just there. Waiting.

Thankfully, Callie's dad had come into town to watch Sof because Callie couldn't stand just waiting for news at home. She couldn't think straight in the empty apartment.

At least here she would hear news as soon as it came. The phone was here. Owen was here. She would know as soon as they were found. _If_ they were found. And if they were found alive.

Owen hit things. Callie hadn't even seen him when he first heard the news. But, by the time she had gotten there, the conference room window was already broken and all the chairs were overturned.

Webber hadn't heard yet. Alex, who had come and told her the news, guided her in. She couldn't even see straight. She couldn't think. She just kept whimpering. She couldn't stop.

"Hey," Alex greeted Hunt.

Owen turned around. His hands were pulling out his hair. He looked haunted. He took them in: Alex looked exhausted and Callie was wearing a bathrobe and slippers over something lacey.

"Have you heard anything else?"

"No," the Chief replied simply. "Nothing."

Callie began whimpering louder.

"Well, what did Boise say?" Alex wanted answers.

"They said they never got there. They didn't make it. The plane must have..." he began.

"But they're looking, right? They're sending a search team?" Alex tried to stay calm, but his voice was strangely loud and high pitched.

"Yeah," Hunt nodded maniacally. "They're searching. They're looking. But..."

"But WHAT?" Alex screeched. He wanted to punch the wall. He wanted to kill someone with his bare hands.

"But...They're not optimistic. It's a lot of forest to cover."

Callie let out a wail of pain before continuing her incessant whimpering.

Owen looked at Callie and sighed. "Torres..." He began. "We have to believe they'll find them. We have to believe that they'll be okay."

"Come on," Alex guided Callie over to a chair as he stood it upright. "Sit," he instructed.

Callie sat. She couldn't even look at him. She couldn't look at anything. She looked straight ahead, into thin air.

Alex sighed and began pacing. "Okay, so it's been, what? Six hours? If the crash wasn't bad, then they're fine! They'll be fine!"

"_If_."

Alex looked toward Owen, looking into his vacant, bloodshot eyes. Decisively, Alex shouted, "We have to _do_ something! I can't just sit here on my ass. Let's go and find them!"

Owen shook his head. "It won't do any good. We have no idea how to search hundreds of acres of land. We'll go meet them once we hear news. If there's reason to." What he meant was, "if anyone survived."

Alex huffed.

Callie whimpered.

The phone rang; Owen picked it up as soon as he heard it. "Seattle Grace," he answered, his voice a lifeless monotone. His shoulders tensed.

Alex and Callie stared at him with wide eyes: waiting.

"You guys are looking? Have you found them?!" He paused, putting his head in his hand. "You're moving quickly right? You're going to keep looking until you find them?" He paused again, sighing in relief. "Call back as soon as you find anything." He hung up.

"DAMNIT!" He threw the phone off the table with all of his strength.

"HEY!" Alex warned. "Stop! We need that!"

Callie began to sob. "Torres..." Alex began, putting his hand on Callie's back.

They barely left the conference room in four days.

Arizona had kicked Alex off all surgeries before she left, so he had nothing to do, and Callie was not in the mindset to perform surgery. Owen, who still had to be the Chief, rescheduled all of Callie's surgeries for a week later and dealt with all traumas himself.

Callie couldn't help him. She couldn't even speak. She hadn't said one word during those four days, just sat in a corner in the fetal position, rocking back and forth and whimpering. Webber attempted to use his fatherly wisdom to calm her down, but nothing worked. She couldn't hear anything, see anything. All she could do was think about Arizona.

Finally, on the fourth day, the phone rang again. Owen sprang up to grab it.

"We found them," Owen heard on the other side of the line.

"Are they...?" Owen began. He didn't know what he would do if Cristina were dead. Surely, he wouldn't survive.

"They're alive. All but one." Owen's breath hitched as he waited.

"Wait. Hold on," the woman was talking to someone around her. "Lexie?" She paused. "They say it's Lexie. She didn't make it."

Owen's shoulders slumped. He felt like he was going to explode. He was so, _so_ relieved that Cristina was alive, but he was so heartbroken to hear about his most promising resident's death.

"We're flying them to Boise right now; they're dehydrated and have lost a lot of blood. A few...aren't doing so well. They're barely hanging on. We'll have to see."

"Just keep. Them all. Alive!" Owen managed. "I'm getting on a plane now. We'll help you all assess before we take them home." Quickly, he hung up, looking up at everyone gathered around the room: Webber, Bailey (who was holding Zola), Karev, Avery, Kepner, and Torres, who was still curled up on the floor.

"They're alive. Everyone except..." he paused. He couldn't say it. "Everyone but Lexie."

His words hung in the air. No one could breathe. They didn't know whether to be anguished or relieved. It could have been so much worse, yes, but Lexie...

Suddenly, the world continued turning, as Bailey and Kepner began to cry.

Owen continued, "They're on a helicopter to Boise; they have some pretty bad injuries and might not make it coming all the way out here. I'm going to go meet them."

"I'm coming, too," Webber insisted.

"So are we," Bailey croaked, hugging Zola closely to her.

Owen turned towards Callie. She still hadn't moved. "Callie?" he approached her mewling form slowly and gently. He didn't know what to do. "Do you want to go see them with us?"

Callie just kept rocking back and forth. She was in shock.

"I'll stay with her," Alex offered. It was the least he could do.

"Okay." He turned to April and Jackson. "Get some beds ready and make sure we have blood. We'll be back in a few hours." And, with that, he, Webber, and Bailey were out the door.

The only people left in the sad, stale room were Alex and Callie, glued to their respective corners. Alex turned to Callie. "Cal, did you hear Hunt? They're alive. Robbins and Sloan are okay."

Callie couldn't respond. It still hadn't sunk in.

Alex sighed and moved towards Callie, sitting beside her. There, they stayed: waiting for more news about their surviving friends.

It took hours for it to come.

Finally, the phone rang. Alex grabbed it. "What?!"

"Everyone's still hanging on. We're sedating them and getting on a plane home. We'll see you guys in half an hour. Be ready. Get Callie ready! Arizona's going to need her."

Alex began to question Hunt further, but he was interrupted.

"We gotta go. Assemble a team to wait by the entrance. Be ready!" he repeated.

Alex put down the phone and looked over at Callie. Her whimpering had finally stopped, but she was still catatonic. "Torres," he said softly. She didn't move. He continued, "They're coming home now. We've gotta go get ready, get you some scrubs."

Callie didn't even acknowledge him. Alex sighed. This gentle approach wasn't working for either of them.

Finally, he edged closer to her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"TORRES!" Alex tried to break her out of her stupor. "They're thirty minutes out; you need to pull yourself together!"

Callie looked at him, finally. "They're coming?" she croaked.

"They're coming." Alex repeated.

"Arizona?"

"She's coming, and she's going to need you. Let's go get you some actual clothes." Callie was still wearing her skintight lingerie set beneath her robe.

Callie began nodding; she couldn't stop. "She's coming. She's coming. She's coming."

Alex lifted her to her feet. "Yeah, they're all coming, and they're going to need us to be the strong ones. Can you do that?"

Callie nodded, more aware now.

"Okay, come on."

Quickly, Callie showered and changed, and Alex waited for her. Usually, they wouldn't be spending so much time together, but they had to support each other now. They shared their love for Arizona; she was both Alex's teacher and Callie's wife.

"How is she?" Callie asked, now coherent as she walked through the sliding double doors into the cold afternoon air. There was already a team waiting.

"I don't know; Owen didn't say. He just said she'd need you."

Callie took a shaky breath. "Okay. Okay. I'm ready."

Alex crossed his arms. He wasn't sure if he was.

They heard sirens in the distance. This was it.

As soon as the trucks pulled up, Owen was yelling orders. "This is Sloan! Get him into a bed and check his vitals! Keep him intubated. Get him on oxygen. He's nearly comatose."

Callie wasn't even listening to Owen. She couldn't even hear about her best friend. She needed to find Arizona.

Amid yelling about Cristina, Owen caught Callie's eye. He looked towards the other truck. Everything was chaos; people where everywhere. "Robbins!" She shouted in the blonde's general direction, "Callie's here."

Without thinking, Callie ran towards where Owen had been facing. "Arizona?!" she called. "ARIZONA?!"

"Callie?" Arizona attempted to call back, but her throat was still dry. She was barely audible.

"**ARIZONA**!" Callie spotted her from ten yards away and sprinted to her gurney. Arizona's face was bruised and bloodied, and she was trying and failing to sit up with her elbows as she searched in vain for her wife.

As Callie raced towards Arizona, she yelled "_MOVE_!" at everyone, as she pushed through all the people who were in her way. Arizona finally saw her as she neared, her breath catching. She was so relieved. Callie was here. Everything would be okay now. "Cal—" she began.

Callie finally reached Arizona and wrapped her arms tightly around her, holding her weight. Arizona dry heaved, almost sobbing but unable to actually cry because she was so dehydrated.

"You're here," Callie breathed, running her fingers through her wife's hair, which she noticed was bloodied and matted down against her head. Still, her wife was alive and in her arms. This was all she had asked for. That Arizona would make it back safely. And she had. "You're here," she repeated. She felt like she was in a dream. Or a nightmare. She was just so thankful that her wife was alive.

"Torres," Owen interrupted, "We need to get her into a bed. We need you to help with the femur injury, too. We have a short window to try and do something."

Confused, Callie released Arizona and actually took a good look at her. She pulled back Arizona's light blanket, revealing a bloody mess of exposed muscle and bone. She sucked in a deep breath. "Oh, sweetie."

Arizona lay back, too exhausted to even support her own weight. She gulped, "They wanted to amputate. But they're wrong, so I told them to take me to you. That you'd know what to do."

Callie struggled to find her voice. She looked at Arizona. She needed to be strong for her. It was her turn to be strong. "I don't want you to worry, okay? We'll fix this. I'll fix this." Her mind began to race, thinking of what she could possibly do to salvage her wife's mangled leg. It was one of the worst leg injuries she'd ever seen in her entire career as an orthopedic surgeon, which was saying something. It was bad, but her wife needed her. She could fix this. She had to.

She shook her head. Now was not the time to think about all that. "Come on," she grabbed the side of the gurney, pulling her wife towards the doors to the ER. "You will be fine, okay? We'll fix this. But for now, let's get you inside."


	14. Chapter 14

**Arizona supporting a sick Callie. (season 6, chicken pox)**

* * *

Arizona walked through her girlfriend's unlocked door still in scrubs and carrying a box of a donuts. "Calliope!"

Callie didn't respond. The apartment was strangely quiet.

"Callie?" Arizona set the box of donuts down on the counter and headed towards Callie's bedroom. "Are you sleeping?" she whispered rhetorically.

She walked through Callie's bedroom, and she was greeted with an unmade bed and her girlfriend, who seemed to be doing a wall-sit and was wearing an incredibly guilty expression.

Arizona couldn't help but laugh at her expression. "What exactly are you doing?"

"Nothing," Callie muttered. Quickly, she straightened into a standing position.

"Mmm hmm." Arizona crossed her arms and glared at her.

Callie had never been able to withstand that maternal "yeah, right" look, whether it came from her mother, her boss, or now, her girlfriend. "I'm itchy, okay?! I needed to scratch my back! I have pox everywhere, and I need to scratch!"

Arizona sighed. "Calliope Iphegenia Torres, you are going to scar if you keep this up!"

Callie pouted. "I know! I can't help it!"

"Yeah, yeah," Arizona laughed. "I brought you donuts to make you feel better, though."

"Again?!" Callie finally walked over and kissed her. "Thank you. Really. Even though you're the only one who ends up eating them."

"Hey! You take too long. I refuse to let them get stale."

Callie smiled at her endearingly before tensing, "Oh my god, why does this suck so much?!" She moved to scratch her shoulder, but Arizona caught her arm.

"No scratching!"

"Ughhhhh." Callie was not amused. Why wouldn't the woman just let her scratch?

Arizona looked towards her dresser, spotting something. "Did you take your medicine? That'll help."

Callie noticeably gagged and stepped away from her. "No way. It tastes disgusting!"

"Callie." Arizona was about to lecture her.

"It does! I cannot drink that stuff anymore."

"Callie, you have to drink it to get better!"

"No way!" Callie backed away from her.

"Come on," Arizona walked towards her.

"No!" Callie began to run in the opposite direction, out her room and towards the kitchen.

"Calliope! Come back here!" Arizona hurried after her.

Callie was in the living room ducked behind the couch. She spot Arizona and ducked down lower.

"It's just medicine; it won't hurt you! Just plug your nose!"

Callie pursed her lips and shook her head. "Mm mm. You can't make me!" She backed further away from the blonde.

Arizona stalked closer, and Callie shrieked. Defensively, she balled her hands into little fists.

Arizona cackled. "Don't even bother. We both know I could have you in a chokehold faster than you could even draw back your fist." Then, she smiled angelically.

Callie pouted, weighing her options. Arizona was most likely right. She came from a family of army members, after all. Callie preferred to solve problems without violence. She had very little experience with it. "Fine," she conceded. "Feed me the poison."

Arizona chuckled. "Such a drama queen." She held up the spoon to Callie's mouth. "Open wide!"

Callie dry heaved. "Fine." She opened her mouth, just a little.

Arizona maneuvered the spoon inside, feeding her the foul-smelling medicine.

Callie had trouble fighting the urge to spit it out. "I need water," she warbled. She scrambled into the kitchen.

As she stood in front of the fridge, Arizona came up behind her and wrapped her arms around Callie's waist. "How about," she began, kissing her shoulder. "I distract you from the taste."

"Mm," now Callie was intrigued. "Did you have another taste in mind?" She turned around in Arizona's arms and bit her lip, sizing up the blonde.

Arizona laughed at her sick and horny girlfriend, kissing her cheek. "How about a massage instead? I'll scratch your back for you."

Callie looked towards the ceiling in reverence of some higher power and moaned. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She noisily kissed Arizona.

Arizona eagerly kissed her back. "See? Chicken pox aren't _so_ bad. Come on."


	15. Chapter 15

**Post 8x11 "You were a monster."**

* * *

As Callie and Arizona walked home hand-in-hand, Callie offered, "Today's surgery _was_ amazing, even if you _were_ insufferable."

Arizona laughed and shifted to good-naturedly wrap her arm around Callie. "Hey, the surgery was perfectly executed. I at least deserve _some_ acknowledgement for that."

Callie chuckled and leaned into her wife, shaking her head. "You're such a control freak. Seriously."

As they opened the door and walked into their apartment, Arizona huffed before swiftly pulling Callie into her, pushing both their bodies against the closing door.

Arizona's face was mere inches away from Callie's, and she was close enough to hear her breath catch. Arizona smiled pridefully. "Funny, you don't seem to mind me taking control now." She leaned towards the Latina, quickly catching her lips in her own as she kissed her forcefully and passionately. She pushed her thigh between each of Callie's, earning herself a lust-filled moan.

But soon, Callie's hands were on her ass, as she hoisted her up into her arms.

"Cal—" the blonde panicked.

Callie quickly shushed her as she lurched down the hall and towards their bedroom. "You don't get to talk anymore tonight. For once, you don't get to be in charge."

Callie clumsily set Arizona down on the side of the bed as she fell on top of her. She straightened. "Move up the bed."

Arizona did as she was told, sitting up against the pillows at the head of their bed.

Callie wagged a finger at her. "Don't move, don't speak. Just stay there. Stay there and watch."

Arizona rolled her eyes. These were not their typical roles. She was far more controlling than Callie in the bedroom. She liked it that way. Generally, so did Callie. "This is—" she began.

"Hey!" Callie interrupted. "What did I say? No. Talking."

Arizona sighed dramatically then nodded, playing along.

When Callie was sure her wife wouldn't make any additional objections, she smiled at her seductively. Slowly, she moved her hands to pinch the hem of her blouse. She looked pointedly at Arizona, making sure she was watching, before slowly removing her own shirt— arching her back and revealing her tanned stomach and black bra underneath.

Arizona balled up her fists. It was all she could do to keep herself from reaching out and touching Callie's gloriously soft caramel skin.

Callie grinned, loving the hungry look in her wife's eyes.

Slowly, she continued her strip tease: unbuttoning her black jeans and lowering the zipper.

Arizona's eyes widened in anticipation.

Again, painfully slow, Callie shimmied out of her jeans and threw them across the room, leaving her in only her underwear. She cupped her bra-clad breasts before moving her hands down to trace the curves of her stomach, waist, hips, and outer thighs.

Arizona, still on the bed, was unable to stay still. Her eyes had grown ten shades darker, from sky to navy blue. Callie was such a tease.

"Should I take this off, too?" Callie asked hoarsely, motioning to her bra.

Arizona pursed her lips in silent concentration. Finally, she nodded. Eagerly.

Callie grinned, watching her wife slowly come undone just by watching Callie.

She unclasped her bra and edged the straps off her arms, allowing the garment to fall to the floor. As her breasts were revealed, she looked at Arizona, who looked positively ravenous. There was no other way to describe the sudden lust in her eyes.

Callie climbed onto the bed, making Arizona smile. _Finally_, she thought.

But then Callie stopped. "Your turn," she nodded towards Arizona's clothes. "Take off everything but your underwear."

Arizona hurriedly began ridding herself of all the offensive fabric, but Callie stopped her. "Wait. Slowly. I want to watch."

Arizona resumed her process of removal, teasing Callie back as she ran her hands down her own body achingly slowly. She made eye contact with the Latina and winked. She at least could have control in this moment.

Callie raked her eyes down the length of Arizona's athletic build. God, what strength it took her not to grab her wife and make them both climax in mere seconds. That was the thing about Arizona. Callie literally ached to touch her. Constantly. When she was with her, she had to be touching her, somehow. It hurt when she didn't. It made her stomach cramp and her hands twitch when she didn't. Still, she wanted to make a point about the blonde's earlier behavior, so she held back. It was her turn to be in charge.

"Lie down," she instructed. Arizona did as she was told, lying back against the pillows.

Callie climbed over her, hovering above her but not quite letting their skin touch. She set her hands beside Arizona's head and lowered her lips onto her wife's.

Arizona happily accepted the gesture, kissing Callie back hungrily and moving her hands to her breasts.

Before she could begin her caress, Callie moved off her and was sitting on her knees. "No hands," she insisted.

Arizona let out an overdramatic sigh. It was the only thing she could do to express her mock-frustration. Finally, she clasped her hands together and put them behind her head, conceding to Callie's request.

Satisfied, Callie scooted up between Arizona's legs again, deliberately rubbing her own breasts up the blonde's stomach and breasts as she made her way towards her lips.

Arizona arched her back, hoping to encourage more contact. Callie kissed her tenderly and finally lowered herself onto the blonde completely. Eagerly, Arizona molded herself into her wife, wrapping her legs around her back to keep Callie from moving.

Callie deepened the kiss and Arizona moaned, making Callie grin. She pulled away a little, moving down the bed a little so that she was able to take Arizona's right soft, pink nipple into her mouth. As she did so, she looked up into Arizona's eyes with a seductive eyebrow raised but a look of complete love and commitment in her black eyes.

As Arizona felt her wife's warm, skilled mouth on her, she unconsciously lifted her hips, bucking against Callie's torso.

Callie moved her hands to hold down the blonde's hips as she pushed herself off of Arizona, refusing to give her the friction she wanted. She brought her mouth to the blonde's ear, "Be patient and you'll be rewarded."

Arizona whimpered, but she said nothing.

Callie continued her achingly slow descent, wrapping her mouth around Arizona's left nipple as she used her long fingers to roll the other between them.

She lazily dragged her tongue down Arizona's tight abdomen and heard the blonde's breath quicken as her muscles tensed beneath her touch. She smelled Arizona's intoxicating sweet scent and ran her finger up the length of her damp underwear.

"Mmm!" Arizona moaned before she could help herself.

Callie couldn't help herself, either. Quickly, she pulled of Arizona's underwear and thrust one finger into her soaking center and curling it into a "come hither" motion as it hit that spongy, soft spot before finally pulling out and running her finger up to her clit, carrying some wet arousal with it.

Arizona arched her back at the contact, using all her self-control to resist yelling out in pleasure.

Callie lowered her head, resting her face between Arizona's thighs. She looked at her wife. Arizona dimpled down at her, causing Callie to blush. Despite their current, odd sexual encounter, they were completely devoted to one another in equality and love. The blonde reached for her wife's hand, and Callie let her, squeezing it, as she lowered her tongue onto her wife's engorged bundle of nerves. Never losing eye contact, with her other hand, she began to steadily pump two fingers inside her wife, whose walls and thighs were clenching in what felt like no time.

For a second, Callie lifted her tongue from her wife, feeling her own center throbbing as her arousal likely seeped through her thin underwear. Again, she looked at Arizona, who hadn't taken her eyes off the sexy dark-haired woman. "You can talk now. But don't move."

Arizona threw her head back against the pillow. "_Thank you_!" Patience was not her métier.

Callie nipped the inside of her thigh. "In a second, I want you to come, and I want you to scream my name."

Arizona nodded passively, happy to comply. She needed a release. Callie had extended this for too long. She mumbled, "That won't be hard." She was close. So close.

Callie grinned devilishly, this time alternating between stimulating the sensitive bud by using soft strokes of her tongue, circular motions of her hand, and a makeshift slit created by two of her fingers, moving her hand up and down against the sides of it.

"Callie—" Arizona moaned as the warm feeling in her stomach continued to build and she edged painfully closer to orgasm.

Callie felt close herself, and she continued her steady rhythm, putting just a little more pressure against Arizona's bundle with her fingers as she moved her mouth to kiss along the inside of the blonde's thighs, one of her most erogenous zones.

"Mmm!" Arizona cried out, panting. "Callie! I'm— Callie, I'm—" Her hips began bucking uncontrollably as her thighs tightened around her wife's head. She gripped the pillows beside her, Callie's hair, anything she could grab a hold of.

Callie didn't stop, ignoring her cramping hand, sore fingers, and biting Arizona's thigh—hard.

That was all it took, as Arizona tumbled over the edge, screaming "_Calliope_!" blissfully as she rode out her orgasm.

When Arizona's body finally stopped convulsing, Callie kissed her way up her wife's stomach, along her now-damp chest and neck, along her jaw, and to her lips.

She left a lingering kiss, which Arizona returned breathlessly. "You're," she panted, "good."

Callie smiled into the kiss, loving the praise. She rolled over to lie beside Arizona, who then rested her arm over her stomach and traced her fingers over the Latina's hot skin.

"I think that was payback enough for today," Callie grinned.

"Payback?" Arizona began mischievously. "Please. Callie, _that_ was a reward."

Callie huffed. "Damn."

Arizona laughed and rolled onto her wife, straddling one of her thighs. "So," she offered. "Do you want to go to bed, or do you want to let me the _awesome_ control freak you know and love again?"

Callie groaned.

Arizona lifted and lowered her hips, subtly moving against Callie and pushing her thigh against her still-soaked underwear. Callie's breath hitched.

"What do you say?" Arizona teased, nipping at Callie's pulse point.

"Fine," Callie surrendered. "Be the boss again."

Arizona reached into Callie's underwear, running one slick finger down her slick folds.

"What do you say?" she repeated, then rolled her tongue down Callie's breast, biting at her nipple, hard.

Callie's hips lifted off the bed. "Ummph!" she moaned.

Arizona made small, gentle circles around Callie's clit with her thumb, edging closer and closer to it each time. Suddenly, she pushed two fingers into her, giving her two distinct pleasurable sensations. She pulled out, and Callie moaned again.

"Please!" she finally begged. "Please," she repeated softly, as her forehead relaxed and creased in time with Arizona's ministrations.

"That's what I thought." Arizona chastely kissed Callie's cheek, then got down to business.

She may have been a monster in the OR, but she was a beast in bed.


	16. Chapter 16

**Callie finding out about the plane crash.**

* * *

Webber had decided to put off the toast; he didn't feel like it was right for him to give it until _all_ the residents were there— and that most certainly included Meredith and Cristina, who were expected to join them any minute.

But they were late.

Finally, the clan—Richard, Alex, Jackson, and April— began dinner without them. The toast could wait until the final two residents had arrived.

The residents laughed and discussed their future plans as Webber congratulated them when his phone rang. "Excuse me," he said.

"Hello?" he answered his cell phone merrily, seeing that it was from the hospital.

"Webber," Owen began, sullen.

"Hunt? What's going on?" Immediately, Webber fell into "chief" mode. Owen was chief now, sure, but after having the job for so many years, Webber couldn't help taking charge and being authoritative in tricky situations. And, from the sound of Owen's voice, the current situation was more than tricky.

Owen paused before answering. "The plane...never got to Boise."

Webber stood up, plugging his ear to hear better. The residents suddenly looked up at him, sensing a shift in the air.

"What happened?" Webber demanded. No. Hunt couldn't be saying what he thought he was saying. His best doctors—Meredith!— could not have been in a plane crash. There was no way.

Owen sighed. "The plane...it's off the grid. It's disappeared. Our people..." he paused again as emotion overtook his voice. "The plane crashed."

The color drained from Webber's face.

"What is it?" Jackson asked worriedly. He, Alex, and April had stood up and put on their coats, ready to race to the hospital for whatever was going on.

Webber gulped audibly. To Owen: "We're on our way. I'll tell everyone else."

Finally, he looked up at the terrified residents. "We need to go to the hospital. Now."

As they all rushed out of the restaurant, down the stairs, and towards their cars, Webber called out, "Jackson and April, you two go ahead. Go find Chief Hunt. I need to speak to Karev." He put his hand on Alex's back.

"_WHAT_?" Alex hated not knowing what was going on.

"Where's your car?" Webber asked. "Let me drive."

Alex tossed him the keys and pointed them both towards his car, too alarmed to bother objecting.

Finally, when they were both inside, Alex asked, "What the hell are we _doing_? We should be hurrying to the hospital! There's gotta be a major trauma! We need to GO!"

Webber put Alex's keys into the ignition and hurried into the street, heading who-knows-where. "_KAREV_! I need you to take a deep breath! I need you to be strong, and I need you to be calm! Can you do that?"

Alex sighed, frustrated and exacerbated, but he nodded. "Fine, I'm calm!"

Webber looked over to him. "The plane crashed," he said simply.

"_WHAT_?" What was Webber talking about?

Webber sighed, spelling it out simply, "The plane to Boise. Never landed. The plane crashed."

Alex's eyes widened as the news registered. He stood still for minutes, just looking at the city lights passing him by. "Mer and Cristina and L—" he began, processing.

Webber just nodded, acknowledging Alex's fears and abrupt understanding. "Yes. And," he concluded, suddenly putting his brakes on in front of a building, "You should be the one to tell Torres." They were stopped in front of her apartment.

Alex's eyes were crazed, and he couldn't seem to close his mouth. He couldn't even blink.

"Karev!" He spoke strongly and authoritatively. "You have to do this. Can you do this?"

Alex nodded, unable to look at the older man. He couldn't look at anything. He couldn't think. Couldn't process.

"Go," Webber instructed. "Go tell her, and be there, and come to the hospital when you two are ready. I'll call if we get word of any news."

Alex kept nodding, his eyes downcast. It was everything he could do to hold back tears. This could not be happening to his friends, his teachers, his mentor...

"Go tell Callie," Webber repeated solemnly.

Finally, Alex opened the door of the car and stepped out. Webber didn't speed toward the hospital until Alex had entered the front door, and the resident was thankful for that. Otherwise, he never would have had the courage to walk through it. He never would have had the courage to climb the stairs and tell his friend that her wife was possibly dead. Because of him.

He didn't have the courage as is, but he had to do this. Someone had to.

He sprinted up the five flights of stairs to Callie's floor and knocked on apartment 502.

"Coming!" Callie merrily called from inside, jumping off the bed where she was lying on her side and towards the door in nothing but purple and black lacy lingerie.

She quickly threw open the door, saying, "Just wait until you see what I have planned f—"

She stopped short when she realized that her wife wasn't on the other side of the door, but instead it was Alex.

"Oh god!" She screeched, trying to hide her body behind her door.

It was like Alex hadn't even noticed. He looked antsy. Something in his expression...He didn't even look like himself. He was like a serious, hollowed out version of the surgeon and man she had come to know.

Callie was afraid now. She peeked out from behind the door, her brows knitting together. "Alex," she began, "What's wrong?"

Alex tried to work past the lump in his throat. "You should sit down," he attempted to say tenderly. He needed to sit down himself. He needed to think of the reality: all of his friends might be dead.

Callie: "What? Alex, what happened?!" She was beginning to panic.

Alex finally looked at her, noticing the lack of clothes. "You also might want to get a robe," he tried to smirk like his usual self would, but he couldn't. He felt like he was someone else. This couldn't be happening.

Callie looked down, remembering. "Oh!" She ran towards her room, then quickly shuffled back in slippers as she tied a bathrobe around her body. She sat on the couch. "What is it?! What are you doing here?"

Alex sat down across from her. "I need to tell you something and I need you to not panic. I need you to keep breathing."

"Okay," Callie replied, scared but solemn. She remembered back to the last time Karev had uttered those words: to Izzie, right before he told her that George was dead.

Was someone dead?

"Alex," Callie began, her panic increasing. "What happened? Is Nick dead? Please, _please_ don't let him die. Not yet."

Alex took a deep breath. "Nick?" Who was Nick? "No, he's not dead." He paused, took a breath. "The plane to Boise. Crashed. They're lost out there somewhere. We don't know anything else."

All the color drained from Callie's face. She looked like a ghost. But, even as the news registered, she refused to believe it. "Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

Alex just looked at her, waiting for his words to set in.

"There's no way!" she said in denial.

Alex kept looking at her.

"_KAREV_! This isn't funny! What the hell kind of monster are you?!" She was working through the second stage of grief: anger.

"_NO_!" Callie broke down sobbing, depressed beyond belief.

Alex moved towards her, setting his hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her as she cried and cried and cried.

Finally, she turned her face towards Alex, accepting the situation. "We have to go! We'll go find them!" She stood up and ran towards the counter, grabbing her car keys. "Alex! Come on!" she urged, running towards the door. "_ALEX_!" She stopped when she noticed the man hadn't moved.

"Callie..." he pitied. "Sofia's sleeping and we can't just go searching through the forest."

Callie deflated. He was right.

"Call someone to watch her, so we can go wait for news at the hospital. It'll be fine." Even as he said it, he didn't believe it. The odds of everyone surviving a plane crash were slim to none. But he couldn't let himself think about it. Not yet.

Callie hadn't moved. She felt a sob building in her chest and tried to contain it, letting out small agonized whimpers instead.

Alex stood up and walked towards her phone. "Come on, Cal," he urged quietly. "Who should I call?"

Callie couldn't speak. She couldn't breathe.

* * *

**Let me know what you guys think of this! I really didn't know how to write it, and I do wish it had been shown on the show! If you have any ideas for future one-shot scenes, please let me know! I appreciate the prompts.**


	17. Chapter 17

**An instance of progress. (Set post-9x06, pre-9x07) (Set after Ch. 3)**

* * *

"We're home!" Callie called as she shuffled through the door to her and Arizona's apartment, carrying Sofia, a pizza, and a six-pack of beer.

Arizona, who had been practicing walking on her new prosthesis before they bumbled in, walked towards them.

Callie set Sofia down and the little girl toddled towards her Mama. "Hey, Sof!" Arizona addressed her excitedly. She wasn't yet comfortable to pick up the little girl, so she instead settled for crouching in front of her and kissing her cheek. "You want some milk with dinner?"

"Ya!" Sofia approved. Callie watched as Arizona pursed her lips adorably. "What's the magic word?"

"Pweeeease," the toddler pleaded.

Arizona straightened, laughing and ruffling her hair. "That's my girl." She walked towards the refrigerator, passing Callie, who was setting the table, on her way. Arizona affectionately put her hand on Callie's back as she walked past her. They were still getting physically reacquainted with one another since the plane crash, and this innocent little action was safe.

"Hey!" Callie turned her head towards her. "How was your day?"

From her position in front of the open fridge, Arizona paused. She looked up at Callie. "Really good," she said simply, before taking out the milk and pouring some into a sippy cup for Sof. And it had been a good day. She had hired laborers to pack up her hospital bed and move her and Callie's bed back into their bedroom. She missed sleeping with Callie and thought it was time. It had to be. Now, if only she could be brave enough to tell Callie.

Callie couldn't help but beam at the hopeful statement. Slowly, Arizona was coming back to her. When the blonde turned back around, Callie attempted to hide her smile. She knew that she had to act like it was no big deal. Agh.

She swooped towards Sofia, grabbing her from behind and swinging her into her high-chair, making airplane noises that made the toddler giggle gleefully.

Arizona grinned at them, then set a plate of cut-up cheese pizza in front of the little girl. "Look, Sof, it's your favorite!"

Sofia wasted no time putting a little piece in her mouth, almost missing it in her excited haste. Soon, she had tomato sauce all over her cheeks.

While Callie took the caps off their beers, Arizona laughed with Sof and cleaned up her face. "How does any food even get into that little tummy of yours?!" she cooed. Sofia giggled happily along with her mama.

Finally, Callie and Arizona began to eat themselves. Ever since the night of Izzie and Alex's wedding and _their_ first time as a couple, pizza and beer had become their sort of signature comfort meal. It always reminded them of a great night and somehow worked to make them feel better after a long day.

Arizona knew that and wondered why Callie was looking for that comfort. She interrupted the silence, looking at her wife, "How was your day?"

"It was good," Callie nodded without looking up from her plate.

Arizona raised her eyebrows. She could read Callie as easily as a Dr. Seuss book.

"What happened?" she pressed.

Callie looked up at her and shrugged in an attempt to be nonchalant. When she saw Arizona's unwavering expression, she sighed, conceding. "I had a tough case. Eleven-year-old kid rode down a hill on the bike his friend _made_. Turns out his friend isn't quite ready to be an engineer." She winced, thinking about the poor little boy's screams and the dozens of broken bones. She didn't say anymore. She didn't say that the boy not only had a bunch of broken bones but injuries so extensive that they killed him. She needed to be strong.

Arizona winced in sympathy. _Ouch_. Seeing kids in bad shape was hard. "I'm sorry," she offered solemnly.

"It's okay," Callie smiled sadly, focusing back on her pizza. "How is it?" she asked conversationally.

"Good," Arizona smiled awkwardly. "I love it when we have pizza and beer."

"Me, too," Callie really smiled this time, thinking of all their memories.

After dinner, Arizona gave Sofia a bath and got her into bed while Callie cleaned up dinner. As she was wiping down the counters, Arizona strolled back in— not quite graceful yet, but not limping too much.

Arizona took Callie in: her messy hair, frown, and slumped shoulders. There was something her wife wasn't telling her. That she knew. She cleared her throat. "Did you want to watch something...?"

Callie looked up, her expression changing entirely. The invitation alone was enough to make her horrible day almost better. She was so grateful for her and Arizona's mending relationship. "Sounds amazing," she grinned.

Callie sat down on the couch before Arizona, which left Arizona to decide how near her wife she would sit. They had been holding hands and kissing chastely, sure, but Arizona wasn't sure if she should put her arm around Callie or just sit next to her. It was so hard. She wanted to be near her, but at the same time, she wanted to run far, far away.

Callie busied herself with the TV remote, not wanting to pressure Arizona or jinx anything. In all honesty, she didn't want to watch TV. Her patient had died today, and it was her fault. She couldn't keep him from bleeding out. So many broken bones...

She didn't want to watch TV. She didn't want to have awkward pleasantries. She wanted to be held by her wife, and then she wanted to sleep in her own bed with the two of them wrapped around each other—completely innocently. She missed that sense of warmth and safety.

But, she tried not to get her hopes up. She just waited for her wife to sit down.

Arizona finally decided that she would sit directly beside Callie, just as she had the past several nights. Lately, she'd taken Callie's hand in her own and held it like a life preserver and it made them each feel better. Tonight, though, she thought she might do more. She was scared, but she wanted to be a wife again. And Callie needed more. Even if, for whatever reason, she wouldn't admit it.

Slowly, Arizona set her cane on the edge of the couch and limped towards Callie so she could sit right beside her. As she sunk into the deep cushions, she allowed herself to smell Callie's intoxicating scent that she had come to call home. Callie's hair, her skin...Arizona had always found safety in it.

Callie sighed audibly as Arizona settled beside her. The feeling of the blonde's body beside her own lit her skin on fire and put her hair on end. Her stomach lurched. She turned up the volume on the TV, hoping Arizona couldn't hear her fast heartbeat.

Both women looked towards the TV, neither entirely sure of what they were even watching. Having something to look at was easier, though. It warded off awkwardness and anger. And sadness.

Tonight, the distraction wasn't working as well as usual, though. Because, for Callie, someone's son had died today. Under her hands. And, for Arizona, because she couldn't help wondering why her wife couldn't even tell her the truth about what had happened during surgery.

And there was the issue of the bed. How could she bring that up?

When a commercial began, Arizona grabbed the remote and muted it. She looked at Callie. Callie's eyes stayed glued to the screen.

Arizona licked her lips. She took a breath. She needed to be there for Callie tonight. She needed to give a little. And that was hard because Callie had cut off her leg. But she had to give anyway.

"Callie..." she breathed.

Callie gulped before turning her head. Hesitantly, she looked into Arizona's eyes.

Arizona struggled to keep eye contact but managed. She pursed her lips. "What happened to the eleven-year-old?"

Callie looked down as she felt a sob build in her chest. She would not cry. _She would not cry_. She couldn't. Things with Arizona were just getting good again. She needed to be strong for her still. It was her turn to be the good man in the storm.

Finally, she shook her head. "Nothing."

Arizona was at a loss for words. She was at a loss for...everything. Because Callie couldn't trust her anymore. Callie couldn't confide in her. She had alienated her own wife so much that she couldn't even talk about her pain. And nothing was more horrifying than that.

"Look at me," Arizona pleaded.

Finally, Callie chanced eye contact again. She had never had much of a poker face. God, one look into her tearful eyes would give it all away. Still, she followed Arizona's instructions because, as much as she knew she shouldn't— _couldn't_— break down, she needed to.

When blue eyes met brown, Arizona reached down and clasped Callie's hand reassuringly. She took a hollow breath. "I'm still here," she whispered.

Callie knit her eyebrows together. "What?"

Arizona paused. It was all so hard. "I'm still here. Most of me, anyway. I'm still here. You're still my wife. And I'm still _your_ wife."

Callie took a shaky breath, trying to hold back the emotion building in her.

"Let me _be_ your wife," Arizona finished. She smiled weakly, and Callie returned it.

Squeezing Callie's hand, Arizona spoke as gently as she could: "He didn't make it, did he?"

Callie just shook her head "no," no longer able to hold back her sobs.

"Come here," Arizona consoled, putting her arms out. This was a Big Step. This was Intimacy. And Arizona didn't know if she was ready, but she knew it was what Callie needed. So she took the step.

Callie didn't waver, didn't let herself think about what Arizona needed just then, just fell into her wife's arms and wrapped her body tightly around her. She held her like her life depended on it.

Arizona, who was at first alarmed by Callie's skin against hers, sighed in relief a second later and allowed herself to relax in her wife's arms. A lot of the time, she was still so angry, but feeling Callie's warmth and fullness right then made her the most peaceful person in the world. Something about Callie's body wrapped around hers let her know that everything would be okay.

Callie cried against Arizona's shoulder, pulling their bodies into each other, and relished the softness of her wife again. Her feathery hair, her shoulders, her soft sweater...

It somehow made everything better.

Arizona ran her fingers through Callie's hair and soothed her with quiet "Sh sh sh's," waiting for her sobs to subside. She pulled Callie into her, wishing she could take away her wife's pain.

Long after, Callie regretfully pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping her eyes. "I should go..." she began.

Arizona brought her thumbs up to Callie's face and wiped away her tears. Callie sighed into the intimate touch, closing her eyes and relishing it.

Arizona smiled. She wished she could do more. She wished she could kiss Callie until she forgot the case and have sex with her until she forgot her name, but she couldn't. She wasn't ready for that.

Instead, she kissed her cheek platonically and then pulled away. Callie opened her eyes.

Arizona: "There's something that might make you feel better."

Callie raised her eyebrows in confusion and surprise.

Slowly, Arizona hoisted herself up and put her hand out to Callie to help her stand. Callie eagerly took it and followed.

"What is it?" Callie asked curiously as they gradually made their way towards the bedroom. She tried to keep the hope out of her voice. She tried not to be hopeful, period. But she was. She was excited by the mere idea that Arizona had done something with _her_ happiness in mind. Things had been so hard.

"You'll see," Arizona smiled. She could do this. She could be a wife again. Maybe not...completely. But she could sleep in the same bed as Callie. She had to.

They got to the door, and Arizona flipped on the lights. She turned to look at Callie.

Callie looked at the room. It actually looked like their bedroom again. It was cleaned up, aired out, and their bed was back in the center of the room. Her mouth opened in surprise. She felt almost giddy. "You—"

"Moved our bed back in," Arizona finished, smiling. She paused, then took a risk: "I missed you."

The look Callie gave her right then was so full of love that, for a second, it remedied all of her pain. Her smile was so powerful that it could cure every incurable disease they'd ever encountered.

"Thank you," Callie mouthed, squeezing her hand. Things with Arizona were far from perfect, but tonight, Arizona had been exactly what she needed. And Callie was eternally thankful for that.


	18. Chapter 18

**How Callie begins hating Arizona (post breakup/6x22)**

* * *

After Arizona kissed her in the elevator, Callie really didn't want to be alone.

She was heartbroken. Heartbroken.

She was in love with Arizona. That she knew. She loved this woman and could imagine a future with her. At least, she could until the issue of children came up. Because Callie wanted kids and Arizona didn't. It was simple as that.

Not having kids was a deal breaker. It wasn't something you could compromise.

Callie had just...always wanted to be a mom. She _had_ to be.

And Arizona had never imagined kids to be in her future. They weren't part of her dream. She couldn't ask Callie to sacrifice her needs, and she couldn't sacrifice their own. They were stuck at an impasse, so they broke up. They were in love, but it no longer made sense for them to be together. They had no future.

Wiping at the tears running down her face, Callie stumbled up the stairs to her floor. When she got there, she paused. She knocked on Mark's door.

"One sec!" she heard from inside.

Mark swung open the door. He had only gotten home a few minutes before, rushing out of the hospital after his speech to Lexie.

"Callie?" he asked when he noticed his best friend's expression.

She just looked up at him. "Can I come in?" she snuffled.

Mark opened the door wider, allowing her to walk through before he shut it.

"What happened?" he asked seriously. "Do I need to kick Robbins' ass?"

Callie made an attempt at a chuckle before collapsing onto his couch. Mark sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her.

Callie leaned into him. "She kissed me."

Mark pulled away to look at her expression. "You just broke up."

"I know. It was in the elevator. She kissed me then rushed off. And I wanted to run after her, Mark. I still do."

Mark sighed. "I think I proposed to Lexie."

"What?" Callie screeched.

He shrugged self-consciously.

"Wow," Callie processed. "What'd she say?"

"Nothing. Yet."

"Wow," Callie shook her head in disbelief. "But, what do I do about Arizona? I love her, Mark."

Mark crossed his arms, thinking. "I know. And you really tried to talk yourself out of not wanting kids so you could stay together."

"I did," Callie agreed.

"What about Arizona, though?"

"What _about_ her?" Callie pressed, confused.

"Did she try? To imagine what it would be like to change for you?"

Callie stilled, just looking at Mark.

"Come on, Cal! I've seen you trying to convince yourself that you don't need kids to be happy. And it was hard for you. Did Arizona try to convince herself that she _could_ be happy with kids because she'd have you?"

Callie took a second to think, pondering the details of the last few weeks.

Mark shook his head. "She didn't even try, huh?"

Callie swallowed, then slowly shook her head.

"Callie," Mark began gingerly. "She's selfish. You deserve better."

Callie nodded eagerly in an attempt to believe her best friend's words. "Yeah!" she proclaimed. "I do!"

"Damn right you do! So get pissed. Robbins _sucks_. You deserve much better."

Callie continued nodding as the anger began to set in.

"You don't want to run after someone so selfish, do you?" Mark pressed.

"No way," Callie agreed solemnly. Mark was right! Arizona had been selfish! Callie was pissed.

"There we go!" Mark threw up his hands. "One problem solved. We hate your ex-girlfriend's guts." He grabbed his laptop off the coffee table. "Now, do you want to watch porn with me or something? I'm lonely."

Callie threw back her head and laughed before striding out his door. "Thanks for the pep talk, Mark! I feel better!" she called over her shoulder.

She walked through her own door and sighed. Mark— who may be perverted— was also right! Arizona hadn't even tried to be thoughtful of her dream. She felt the newfound anger course through her. It felt a lot better than heartbreak.


	19. Chapter 19

**Callie comforting a sick Arizona. (Post 10x18)**

* * *

"Look at that," Arizona began weakly, looking at the thermometer. "101 degree fever. Yay."

"Yay," Callie agreed sarcastically, sitting on the edge of the of the bed where her wife was curled up in the fetal position. "You really _do_ have the superpower."

"Some superpower," Arizona scoffed, laughing.

Callie rubbed her hand along the blonde's outer thigh affectionately. "What can I do? We both know I'm just going to get sick anyway, so how can I help? There's no harm in speeding up the process; at least we can be sick and stuck at home at home together." She chuckled.

"That could almost be fun," Arizona swallowed, closing her eyes. The pain in her stomach was brutal— a sharp pain that couldn't be ameliorated with Advil and that wouldn't let her sleep.

She felt the bed dip as Callie climbed in on the other side of her. Soon, she felt Callie's warmth against her back.

"Mmm," Arizona sighed approvingly, settling against her wife. Callie kissed Arizona's hair and put her hand on her shoulder, tracing soothing lines up and down her arm.

Arizona smiled to herself, "I could kiss you right now."

Callie chortled. "Don't. I love you, but ew. Germs. Just try to sleep."

She exhaled contently. She yawned. "Okay. 'Night."

"'Night," Callie yawned in response.

Arizona fell asleep surprisingly easily, and Callie quickly followed suit, easing into sleep as her fingers continued softly running up and down her wife's hot skin.


	20. Chapter 20

**Post 5x24- Callie apologizing to Arizona.**

* * *

"Bailey! Have you seen Arizona?" Callie had been futilely searching for the blonde since their last interaction: when Arizona had stalked into the residents' lounge where Callie had been brooding about George and confessed that her brother had died in Afghanistan.

Callie felt like an idiot. All day, she had been cruel to Arizona for thinking that it was "awesome" that George had joined the army. She had been a monster to the woman she liked— and possibly loved.

She felt like such an idiot.

"Last I saw she was making rounds up on Peds," Bailey looked up from her chart.

"Thanks," Callie quickly raced towards the elevator. She needed to apologize. She felt awful.

When the elevator finally opened in front of the Pediatric Ward, Callie rushed out, looking down the adjacent hallways in search of Arizona. She spotted her rolling on her sneakers. "Arizona!" she yelled towards her.

Arizona stopped and turned towards the voice. She saw it was Callie and pursed her lips. She was still angry about the way Callie had spoken to her.

Callie walked towards her. "Do you have a sec?" she asked meekly.

Arizona didn't answer immediately. Finally: "Not really."

"Arizona..."

"Fine," she conceded. "Walk with me." She turned, continuing down the hallway, knowing that Callie would follow.

Callie raced after her, catching up to her breathlessly. "Wait. Stop walking for a second. I need to apologize and can't at this pace."

Arizona sighed, stopping her fast-paced strut and turning to Callie, crossing her arms. Callie stopped, too, and the two women looked at one another.

Callie made a face of surrender. She would beg for forgiveness if she had to. "I'm sorry about before," she began regretfully. "I was being stupid and thoughtless and self-involved... I shouldn't have said those things to you. And you're right," she shrugged, not knowing what else to say. She looked at her feet. She looked at Arizona's hard face. "I'm just sorry."

Arizona's face softened, and she nodded. "It's okay," she whispered. She turned to continue walking, but Callie grabbed her wrist.

Arizona looked up at her questioningly.

"You're still mad," Callie whimpered. "What can I do?"

Arizona genuinely smiled. "I'm not mad, Calliope. Seriously. I have surgery, but I'll come over tonight." She squeezed Callie's hand before walking away.

"Okay," Callie nodded. She would make it up to her girlfriend tonight. Maybe make her dinner? Everything would be okay.

Except dinner didn't happen. Because George was the guy who got hit by a bus.

* * *

**I had sorta been planning to show Callie talking to AZ about Tim during dinner/a bath or something, but then I remembered the whole George fiasco. Sorry this chapter's pretty boring!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Arizona having a nightmare. (Set early Season 9) (Obviously before Ch. 17)**

* * *

_She heard a tearing sound. The cacophonous tearing of flesh. Bones dislodging from fibrous tissue and being dragged away: trophies for the wolves._

_That was all that was left of Lexie. And, soon, it would be all that was left of the rest of them. _

_Meredith was crying._

_Cristina was yelling, begging her to stop. She hadn't slept in days._

_Jerry was moaning in pain._

_Derek was catatonic. _

_Mark was unconscious. Again. Barely hanging on._

_Arizona heard the animals shredding the dead meat with their teeth. She heard them stalking closer to her. Closer, closer, closer. She saw their bright yellow eyes: hundreds of ominous eyes. Staring at her. Like Lexie had been dinner and now she was dessert._

_Arizona watched them ease closer. A tree fell in the distance: it seemed to be a command for the wolves, who suddenly flew towards her at high speeds. She wanted to cry out, to scream, to beg for help, but she couldn't. Hundreds of pairs of teeth sunk into her skin, mauling her already raw, mangled thigh. They bit at her femur. They ripped apart her veins, arteries, tendons. They wouldn't stop. The pain wouldn't stop._

* * *

Unconsciously, in the world of reality, Arizona cried out in agony. "**NO**! _**NO**_!" She thrashed in bed, trying to push off the wolves that haunted her at night. They wouldn't stop biting, tearing her to pieces. She wasn't strong enough to fight them. She sobbed, continuing to thrash violently and in vain.

* * *

In Mark's apartment, Callie woke up with a start. She looked around her, trying to figure out what might have woken her up. Noticing nothing unusual in the silence, she exhaustedly dropped her head to her pillow again and turned onto her side, hoping to fall back asleep.

Before she succumbed to sleep once again, she heard a cry on the baby monitor. Again, she bolted upright. She grabbed the monitor and began rushing towards her own apartment barefoot to hurriedly cradle Sofia back to sleep.

In the hallway between the two apartments, Callie heard the agonizing sound again.

It wasn't the sound of Sofia's cries. _No_.

It was Arizona.

Callie pushed open the 502 apartment door and raced towards what used to be their bedroom. She paused at the doorway as she appraised her wife sobbing uncontrollably in the hospital bed, begging for her life.

"Arizona?" Callie asked, at first a whisper. "Are you awake?"

The blonde continued to weep.

Arizona hadn't so much as let Callie touch her in weeks, but in that moment, Callie couldn't help herself. She couldn't stand seeing Arizona in pain. She rushed to her bedside.

"Arizona!" she called more loudly.

Still, she was asleep, lost in a nightmare so much worse than her new reality.

Callie reached out and smoothed out the stress lines between Arizona's eyebrows. She stroked her hair— matted down with anxiety-fueled sweat, but still soft. Still the hair that had fallen over Callie's face like a curtain during sex, the hair that looked adorable in braids, the hair that she breathed in during long embraces...

At Callie's gentle touch, Arizona's cries turned to soft whimpers.

A minute later, deciding that her nightmare had ended, Callie slowly backed towards the door. As she turned to leave, Arizona let out an excruciating wail. _The wolves..._

Callie turned back, rushing towards Arizona so desperately that the baby monitor clattered to the floor. She was unable to withstand the sound of the beautiful woman's agonizing scream. Of course she couldn't. Arizona may not have been the woman she recognized as her wife lately, but she still was the woman she loved. The woman she had committed her life to. She was everything to Callie.

Callie quickly climbed over the safety bars and onto the thin hospital bed, needing to hold Arizona and let her know that she was there. It was all she could do. "Sh sh sh," she soothed. "You're okay. I'm here." She kissed Arizona's smooth shoulder and ran her hands over her warm back in palliative circles. "You're okay," she whispered.

Finally, Arizona's cries subsided to small whimpers and sniffles and then silence.

Callie regretfully dislodged herself from her wife, who suddenly seemed so small.

She placed an innocent but prolonged kiss on her forehead, just being grateful that, for a second, she could be so close to her again.

Then, she headed back to Mark's apartment. She had to. If she had accidently fallen asleep and Arizona woke up in her arms...who knows what would happen. Nothing good. Her wife needed space. She never even needed to know that Callie had been there.

* * *

In Mark's bed, Callie couldn't sleep. She hated that she and Arizona had gone through so much. She hated that Arizona wouldn't let her help.

She hated that Mark was dead. She hated everything. When sleep finally came, it wasn't restful. But sleep, no matter what its form, was better than no sleep, so she cherished the few hours she was granted and hurried off to work the next morning.

* * *

Arizona, who woke up long after Callie had left, sat up in bed. She knew that last night had been bad. She didn't remember the nightmare, but she knew she had one. She remembered fear...and pain...and then warmth.

She grabbed her crutches from beside her bed and began heading towards the kitchen to make coffee. As her crutches thunked against the wooden floors, she noticed something.

The receiving end of a baby monitor.

Callie had been there.


	22. Chapter 22

**Callie and Arizona go to Starbucks before work. (Early Season 7? I don't know)**

* * *

"Wake up, pretty lady," Arizona whispered, kissing Callie's cheek.

"Nooo," Callie shoved a pillow over her face, refusing to face the light of day and the cold outside.

Arizona's musical laugh filled the room, making Callie smile from under her pillow, even in her grumpy half-asleep state.

"Come on," Arizona insisted, attempting to grab the pillow. "If you hurry, we'll have time to stop for coffee."

"Fine," Callie growled in defeat.

"Yay!" Arizona cheered, always perky.

Quickly, both women shrugged into their jeans, blouses, and boots, applied their makeup, and headed for the door.

"Mmm," Callie hummed approvingly when she took a second to look at Arizona. "You look hot." She ran her tongue over her bottom lip unwillingly.

"You're one to talk," Arizona grinned, running her index finger down Callie's silky blouse over her warm, soft skin.

Callie shuddered with pleasure at the gentle touch. She grabbed Arizona's hand, "Need coffee. Come on."

The two women walked hand-in-hand to the Starbucks by the apartment and hospital. Callie held open the door. "After you," she grinned. Arizona curtsied amusingly. "Thank you," she chirped.

Once inside, Callie ordered a cappuccino and Arizona ordered a latte. They sat at a nearby booth as they waited for their drinks.

"Callie!" A barista called from behind the bar, signifying that her drink was ready. Callie stood up to retrieve it.

A minute later: "Are— Zone?" The college-aged kid was struggling to read the name scribbled on the cup.

Arizona went up and grabbed it. "Arizona," she smiled. "Thanks."

The young guy looked at her smile and blushed. "That's pretty. The cup definitely doesn't say that, though."

Arizona sashayed towards Callie as she attempted to read the name on the cup. The kid was right. It definitely said "A. R. E. Z. O. N. E." Not even close.

"Look at this," she showed Callie the scrawl.

"Arezone?" Callie asked. "That ain't right."

Arizona laughed. "How hard is it to spell "Arizona"? It's a frickin' state!"

Callie shrugged as they continued walking to Seattle-Grace. "They were kinda close."

Arizona leveled a look at Callie. "Seriously? No they weren't! That's like if they had called you Qually."

"Qually?" Callie giggled. "What kind of name is that?"

"Exactly!" Arizona huffed.

Callie slid her arm around the blonde's back, pulling them close enough that they were walking as one body rather than two.

"Look, I'll make it up to you." Suddenly, Callie's voice lowered in volume and octave as she whispered into Arizona's ear, "Tonight, I'll yell out your name the way it _should_ be pronounced, and then I'll continue to show off my excellent oral sex skills by spelling it the way it _should_ be spelled on you for an hour straight, or however long it takes."

Arizona felt a wanton ache build in the pit of her abdomen and held her breath to avoid moaning aloud.

Callie grinned, straightening and returning to her usual, professional self now that they had walked through the doors of the hospital. "Sound good?"

Arizona looked up at her. "Sounds _more than good_," she put her fingers through Callie's belt loops and pulled her in for a quick kiss. Callie happily met her halfway.

Then, Arizona backed away, heading towards the Peds Ward. "I've gotta go."

"Me, too," said Callie, backing up in the opposite direction. "Until tonight, _Arezone_." She threw her head back and guffawed before finally turning and sauntering away gleefully.

Arizona rolled her eyes and smirked, not even fazed. She could only think of how fun their night would be.

* * *

**If there are any one shot scenes you'd like me to cover in the future, please comment and let me know! :) Thanks for reading!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Callie and Arizona post-10x21**

* * *

"I can't believe Alex is leaving," Callie said conversationally from her place in bed. "Did he tell you?"

"I know," Arizona agreed from across the room, where she was removing her earrings. "He told me he was thinking about it this morning. I'm happy for him; he deserves it." She sat on the edge of the bed and swiftly removed her prosthetic then crawled under the covers.

"Mmm," Callie sighed in agreement. "Still, I'd be a little pissed if my star student left to join a private practice." She shut off the lamp and repositioned herself so that she was lying down. She turned to her side and faced Arizona.

Arizona mirrored her position and sort of shrugged in response. "He said he already stayed for me once after the plane crash. I don't want to hold him back again."

Callie moved her hand to caress the blonde's face. "Hey. It wasn't your fault."

"I know, I know," Arizona smiled faintly, kissing Callie's caramel thumb. "But still."

Callie pursed her lips and nodded.

Suddenly, Arizona's eyes lit up and she moved to grasp the hand on her face.

"What?" Callie asked curiously.

"I have some more good news about today." She paused.

Callie waited, eager to hear.

"I got on a plane today," she continued solemnly.

"What?!" Callie's eyebrows shot up.

Arizona nodded. "To get a transplant," she clarified.

"Wow," Callie admired. "How was it?"

"Terrifying, but not as bad as I thought it'd be," Arizona all but grinned.

"I'm _so_ proud of you." Callie closed the space between them, needing to convey the love and pride she felt for her beautiful wife with more than words.

Arizona eagerly kissed her back, smiling into the contact. She would never grow tired of the feeling of Callie's lips on her own. It was the most breathtaking feeling, one she needed like oxygen. After a minute, she pulled away. "I love you," she whispered.

Callie beamed, "I love you, too."

Arizona ran her fingers through Callie's hair and pulled her body closer, tangling their legs and arms together.

As the sole of Arizona's foot made contact with Callie's leg, the brunette yelped. "You're freezing!" she laughed, but she also tugged her wife closer and the blankets up to cover their shoulders.

"It's pouring outside," Arizona chuckled. "And not everyone is lucky enough to always have skin as hot as yours." She buried her face and cold nose in Callie's warm chest.

Callie smiled, knowing that Arizona had a point. For whatever reason, her skin was always hot as coals. She pressed her lips to the blonde's forehead before hiding her face in tangled blonde hair, inhaling delicious rose-scented shampoo.

They lay there, enveloped and completely consumed with one another, without speaking. No words were necessary; they were beyond content just enjoying the feel of the other's skin against them and hearing each other's quiet, slow breathing mixed with the sound of rain outside.

"Callie?" Arizona finally murmured.

"Mmm?" Callie hummed, near sleep.

"I'm so grateful to have you. Really."

Callie smiled. "Me too, me too," she pulled Arizona tighter into her. "I give thanks for you every day." She pressed her lips to blonde hair.

Arizona hummed languidly, and they both easily fell asleep in each other's arms with smiles grazing their lips.

It had been a good day.


	24. Chapter 24

**Callie learning about steak knives. (Set post-8x18)**

* * *

"Okay," Callie chuckled exhaustedly as she sat up in bed. "As much as I'm loving our hot, angry sex, I need a break."

Arizona scowled. "Already?"

Callie rolled her eyes. "You're insatiable." She leaned over and kissed the blonde's cheek.

Arizona shrugged flirtatiously.

Callie laughed, getting up. "I'm going to go get that bottle of wine you opened. I need to regain my strength." She winked before sauntering out of the room, giving Arizona an excellent view of her naked retreating form.

When she came back, she handed Arizona a glass of wine. "You're going to need your strength, too, because you are going to talk to me."

Arizona sighed, pursing her lips.

Callie looked at her pleadingly. "Come on! I want to hear about all your exes. I won't get jealous; I'm just curious. You know about my past, and I don't know about yours. It's hardly fair." To show how serious she was, Callie made a point of making herself comfortable in a listening position, blinking at Arizona expectantly.

"Oh, fine" Arizona groaned and sat up, too, taking a sip from her wine glass. "But only if we can have more hot, non-angry sex after."

"Deal," Callie held up her wine glass and Arizona clinked it with her own.

"Okay. Do you want me to tell you about everyone in Seattle or everyone ever?"

"Ever."

"Callie," Arizona sighed, "If I do that, there won't be any time left for sex for a _very_ long time."

Callie's jaw dropped.

Arizona shrugged innocently. "Just being honest!"

Callie exhaled loudly, exasperated. "Everyone in Seattle then. But another day," she warned, "You're going to tell me everything."

Arizona grinned. "Oh, Calliope, you are not going to make this fun for me, are you?"

Callie just looked at her. Waiting.

Arizona took a deep breath in preparation. "Okay, so keep in mind, I had already been in Seattle for a year before I met you. And, let's see, you already know about Colleen, Leslie, Jenny, Noelle, Nancy, Meg, Tia, and Tanya. I think that's it for Seattle Grace. No! Wait! Also Judy in Oncology. And Nurse Lisa."

"What?" Callie gasped. "Lisa's married and has two kids!"

Arizona winced. "Yeah, she wasn't wearing a ring and failed to mention that." She shrugged, "She was fun, though. Super fun."

Callie's eyes widened.

"She was! You're more fun, though." Arizona defended.

"Well, yeah," Callie tipped back her head and downed the rest of her wine. "I'm just surprised. I didn't know you were a female Mark before you met me."

Arizona narrowed her eyes. "I was not."

"Mmm hmm," Callie answered sarcastically.

"Seriously! I casually dated women, too. They weren't all one-time stands."

Callie crossed her arms, attempting to look serious, but she was curious. She didn't know much about her wife's romantic past, and she wanted to. "Tell me about them," she insisted.

Arizona chuckled at the darker woman's tone. "There was Taylor. We went out a few times. She had this amazing short, spiky hair and a motorcycle. She ended up being _way_ less badass than she'd seemed, though." Arizona paused and made a face. "I got bored."

Callie didn't say anything. She just waited for Arizona to continue.

"Oh!" Arizona finally said. "And there was...what was her name? Ana? Ana. She was a dancer." She smiled wistfully.

Callie felt her face get red. Okay, fine. She was a little jealous. A _dancer_?! _Really_?! She cleared her throat. "What kind of dancer?"

"Salsa."

Callie groaned.

"Hey!" Arizona put her hand on her wife's thigh. "I can stop, and we can get back to our f—"

"No way. You get sex after you tell me about who else you dated."

Arizona sighed. "This woman I met at Wildrose named Kate, her best friend Audrey, the bartender, Jessica. This nurse, Sarah, at Seattle Pres. An anthropology professor at Puget Sound. Oh. And Steak Knives."

Callie raised her eyebrows. "Who?!"

Arizona rolled her eyes and frowned. "Eugh. Basically, we were dating casually, just seeing each other every week or so. I was also seeing Kate and Sarah at the time. Anyway, I went to her house to pick her up for a date one night after a month of dating," she paused, "and she insisted we get matching tattoos for our four week anniversary."

Callie's mouth fell open in anticipation. "Oh, no."

"Oh, yes. And when I said 'no thank you,' she grabbed a steak knife from her kitchen and started coming at me with it."

"What did you do?!"

"I ran for the door!" Arizona laughed warmly. "She called me five minutes later, apologizing profusely and begging for another chance, but it was just too weird."

"Wow."

"Uh huh."

Callie laughed. "I guess I'm glad I'm not the only one with a less than perfect dating history."

Arizona shuddered. "Now, can we _please_ get back to our hot sex? I need to take my mind off her. Yuck."

Callie grinned, wasting no time at granting her wife's wish, she captured Arizona's lips in her own, pulling the blonde towards her as she placed her hands on her cheeks. Callie aimed to leave her Arizona breathless, only finally allowing her to take a breath when she herself felt her chest hurt. She wanted to make Arizona forget everyone else she had ever kissed.

And she did just that.

All night long.


	25. Chapter 25

**Calzona's first time sleeping in bed together after AZ cheating. (Season 10)**

* * *

Callie sighed as she tossed the throw pillows off the bed. The night had come for Arizona to sleep in their bed again, and though Callie in many ways had craved her wife's body beside her own, she was also still so mad. Arizona had slept with someone else. While they were still married. It was unforgivable.

Arizona walked into the room from the bathroom and offered a soft smile.

Callie gave a sad smile in return, but it was almost painful for Arizona to look at. Callie still looked so beat down. There wasn't an ounce of joy or love in the smile, and it broke Arizona's heart.

"Callie." Arizona began pleadingly.

Callie whipped her head around to look at her. "What?"

Arizona's breath caught at the sharpness of Callie's voice. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please. What can I do?"

Callie shook her head. "Let's just go to bed." She sat down on her side of the bed and pulled the blankets up to cover her lap.

Arizona sighed in defeat. She deftly removed her prosthetic and leaned it against the wall beside her bed. She turned off her lamp and shifted her body to lie down on her back.

Callie turned off the lamp on her bedside table, too, then lay down in a similar position—completely closed off. She and Arizona couldn't even look at each other: Callie was too _angry_ and heartbroken, and Arizona was too _scared_ and heartbroken.

Finally, Callie offered, "I'm trying, Arizona. I am. I'm trying to move past it. But it's hard, because when I close my eyes or when I look at you, all I can see are your hands touching that _other woman_ the way you touch me."

Arizona turned on her side to face her wife. She wanted to reach out and touch her. She wanted to be her good man in the storm, but she couldn't. Because she _was_ the storm. She was the reason for Callie's pain.

Callie shook her head and closed her eyes, willing the tears not to fall. "I just can't believe it, Arizona. This doesn't feel real."

Arizona took a shaky breath. "Calliope..." She reflexively reached out to touch her wife's arm, and Callie let her.

Callie sniffled. "I want us to fight for love and be together again, but I don't know how to forgive you for _screwing_ someone else."

Arizona waited. She was at a loss. What could she do?

"And the worst thing about it all is that I just want you to hold me. Because I don't _want_ to want that. Because I'm still so mad. But I do. It's all I want."

Arizona squeezed Callie's arm in attempt at reassurance. They weren't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to be happy and free of plane crashes and cheating. They weren't supposed to end up like this.

Arizona let out a shaky breath. "I get that you're still mad. You're trying to move past it, but you're still mad. I guess I deserve that. And I can't do anything to help you to stop imagining me and someone else, but I can hold you if you'll let me." She edged her body closer to Callie, indicating her intentions.

Callie drew in a quick unsteady breath. It scared her how much she craved intimacy with Arizona, even after everything. But she did. She craved Arizona's body like nothing else.

Finally, she turned her body to meet Arizona, who in turn wrapped herself tightly around Callie to give them each the comfort and touch they needed.

Callie felt her entire body and soul let out a sigh of relief as Arizona's arms tightened around her.

This would always be home to Callie. Arizona would always be her home.

She brought her arms around to embrace the blonde back, pulling their bodies tighter together.

Arizona exhaled tremulously at the increased contact, then allowed her head to settle in the crook between Callie's neck and shoulder. She inhaled Callie's signature fruit-scented shampoo and finally allowed herself to relax.

For the first time in weeks, the two women were able to fall asleep in mere minutes.

They were finally home.


	26. Chapter 26

**Arizona revealing her feelings (RARE) about Callie/the separation. (Set late Season 10)(Sometime after Ep 14 and before Ep 20)**

* * *

"Karev, how's it going? How's the baby?" Arizona asked as she strode over to where her protégé was standing in the NICU.

Alex sighed as he continued working over the tiny infant. "He's alive, but his stats are going down. I had to intubate him and manually bag him for a few minutes." He shook his head, staring down at his and Arizona's patient. "He's just so small."

Arizona looked over the baby and then at the chart, looking over Alex's impeccable work.

Alex looked up at her, then down awkwardly.

"What?" Arizona asked.

"Nothing," Alex mumbled. "How are you?"

"Good...?" Arizona replied questioningly. This wasn't their usual exchange. "Why?"

Alex shrugged, focusing on the baby rather than his mentor. "Just wondering. How are things with Torres?"

Arizona raised her eyebrows. "Karev? Why?"

* * *

"These are some _really_ bad breaks," Callie observed as she looked at the x-ray scans. "His bones are practically shattered."

"Can you fix them?" Jo asked curiously.

"Damn right I can." Callie grinned. "I'm going to go find Karev, though. He'd want to be in the OR with us since the kid's so young. I'm going to go find him. You, go make sure the OR's prepped and get yourself scrubbed! I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Okay, Dr. Torres!" Jo affirmed.

Callie raced out of the room towards the Peds Ward to track down the younger pediatric surgeon.

* * *

_Arizona raised her eyebrows. "Karev? Why?"_

Alex finally met her eyes. "Look, we're friends, and you practically live with me. I'm just wondering."

Arizona pursed her lips, debating what she was willing to reveal. Finally: "We're good. Friends. Co-parents." She stroked the tiny baby's hand with her gloved finger, hesitant to say more.

Alex just nodded thoughtfully.

* * *

Callie paused outside the NICU, seeing Alex through the glass. As she was about to rush inside, she spotted Arizona. She stopped, not going any further. She didn't want to run into her if she didn't have to. So, instead, Callie just looked at her from outside. She looked beautiful.

Finally, Callie opted to stand right outside the open door, where she could still hear the Alex and Arizona inside, but they couldn't see her.

* * *

"I just," Arizona shrugged dejectedly. "I needed her before. Or at least I thought I did. And that became a problem, because the fear I had of losing her overrode everything else. Even my own well-being and happiness. And hers."

She looked up at Alex, who was looking into her blue eyes without blinking. He was honored that Arizona was confiding in him. He was grateful that he was now considered someone his teacher could turn to. After all, she'd done so much for him in the past. She'd taught him everything he knew.

Arizona refocused on the baby, her voice unconsciously raising an octave as she observed the patient maternally. "But now, I just want her," she declared. She cleared her throat, returning to her normal voice, if not one that was more vulnerable. "I just want her. And I miss her. And I know now that I can survive without her. I _can_ live without her. I just," she shrugged again. "I don't want to." Hesitantly, she looked up at Alex again.

* * *

From outside, Callie could hear everything her ex-wife was saying. Her jaw dropped. Was this real?

* * *

Alex offered Arizona something between a reassuring smile and a grimace before walking towards her and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If you ever need someone, I'm here."

Arizona grabbed his hand and quickly squeezed it. "Thank you, Karev." Then, sensing the moment was over, she began walking towards the exit. Callie gasped and tried to hide, but the blonde turned the opposite way and didn't even spot Callie.

Callie let out a sigh of relief.

Finally, Alex, recomposing himself to fulfill his typical gruffness, walked out of the NICU. He almost ran directly into Callie.

"Hey!" Callie warned.

"Whoa!" Alex said.

His eyes widened. "How long have you been here?"

Callie gulped. "I just came to come find you. We need you in OR 2. Come on."

Alex nodded eagerly, and the two doctors headed for the elevator as Callie gave him a rundown of the patient's condition.

Callie wasn't really thinking about her surgery, though. She was thinking about what Arizona had said.

More importantly, she was thinking about the fact that she herself might feel the very same way.


	27. Chapter 27

**Story behind the red dress. (Callie in 10x03: "You wore the red dress and everything.")**

**Set early Season 8.**

* * *

After a month of crazy, conflicting work schedules, Callie and Arizona finally had the same night off. And, since such a thing was such a rare occasion these days, they had decided that it would be best spent out on a date. With all the work and new baby stress, they really, _really_ needed it.

"Arizona," Callie called from the doorway of the apartment, "I just brought Sofia over to Mark's. Are you almost ready?" She noisily shut the door.

"Almost!" Arizona called from their bedroom.

"Can I see what you're wearing?" Callie asked flirtatiously, heading towards the bedroom to check out her wife. She walked through the door, and Arizona turned to her.

"What do you think?" the blonde grinned, as she put her hands on her hips in a pose.

Callie's jaw dropped. Arizona was wearing the most beautiful, form-fitting red dress she had ever seen; it accentuated every flawless curve and somehow made her wife's cerulean eyes look even bluer.

She raked her eyes down Arizona's body from head to toe, suddenly overcome with lust. Her pupils dilated at the incredible sight before her.

"You like it?" Arizona teased, walking towards the brunette.

Callie widened her eyes. "You are SO hot."

Arizona blushed. "I could say the same about you." She ran her fingers down the taller woman's chest and abdomen, relishing her softness and suppleness. That, and the great view of her cleavage.

"Seriously!" Callie said. "You are the sexiest, most beautiful person in the world. This dress..." She was at a loss for words. "Wear this dress, and I'm yours. Anything you want. Wear it the next time we start talking about getting a puppy. Or..." She couldn't even finish her thought. Finally, she gave a slight shake of her head as if to clear it. "Wear this when you want something. There's no way I'll be able to turn you down. God, you are sexy."

Arizona reached up to cup Callie's face, leaving a lingering kiss on her lips before pulling away. "You sure know how to sweet talk, don't you?" She laughed. "Come on. We're going to be late to our reservation."

"Or we could have a date in bed?" Callie husked wantonly, grabbing Arizona by the behind and pulling the shorter woman into her. Callie began kissing her deeply, and Arizona moaned in approval. She still couldn't believe she would get to kiss this beautiful woman's lips for the rest of her life.

Finally, she put her hands on Callie's chest and pushed away. "Hey. You promised me a fancy dinner."

Callie's mouth formed an adorable pout. Her wife was _hot_, so she didn't want dinner. She wanted sex. And lots of it.

Arizona held her wife's gaze. "I _do_ recall you promising me that my every wish command until I take off this dress..."

"Fiiiiine," Callie pouted. "Dinner it is."

"Yay!" Arizona grabbed Callie's hand and intertwined their fingers as they headed for the elevator.

On the elevator, Callie turned and breathed into Arizona's ear. "And what happens when the dress comes off?"

Arizona sniggered. "When it comes off, then _I'm_ yours."

She gingerly kissed Callie's cheek. "But I'm always yours."

Callie squeezed her hand. "Me, too," she grinned. "Forever."


	28. Chapter 28

**Callie has a nightmare. Arizona comforts her. (Set post 11x19)**

* * *

_Callie: sitting in a dark corner of Seattle Grace's third floor conference room, her knees tucked into her chest and her teeth chattering in fear._

_She can't see anything. The room is black. She hears Arizona's haunting screams in the distance. She gets up to find her wife, but she can't. The screams come from all directions. She doesn't know where to go. _

_She smells burning metal and damp leaves._

_Mark's voice joins in: a call for help. Callie can hear them, but she can't see them. Their screams of agony course through her, but she's helpless. She can't find them. Can't reach them. Can't help._

_A phone rings. She hears a voice as someone picks it up and answers. Owen. Callie looks towards his voice. The room falls silent as he listens to the news. _

_Suddenly, the room is lit up by bright red eyes. Owen's eyes sear holes into her skin, but she can't look away. She needs to know what happened._

_Owen: "They're dead." _

* * *

Callie bolted upright in bed, her ears ringing, her heart taking off in her chest, and her body covered in a layer of sweat.

Callie tried to take a deep breath, but it was uneven and unsteady. "I'm okay," she whispered to herself. "It was just a nightmare. It's not real. I got to say goodbye to Mark and Arizona survived. She's okay. I'm okay."

No matter how many times Callie told herself this, though, she couldn't will herself to calm down. She had nightmares like these occasionally, and they really took a toll on her. It was even worse now, though, because before, Callie could look beside her and know that Arizona was okay. Now she couldn't.

And, though they weren't together anymore, Callie still cared about whether Arizona lived or died. She loved her, even if it was different now. Arizona was Sofia's mother. She needed to know her ex-wife was okay.

Before Callie could stop herself, she reached over to the bedside table and fumbled with her phone. She looked at the time. _Shit. 3:02 a.m_.

Still, before she could stop herself, she was dialing Arizona's cell phone number. She knew it by heart.

Callie's heart beat in her ears as it rang:

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six times.

No answer. Callie felt her anxiety grow. Her chest physically hurt, even though deep down, she knew she had no reason to worry.

She redialed without thinking. Again, the phone rang:

One.

Two.

Thre— "Hello?" Arizona answered groggily.

Callie let out a trembling breath, only then realizing she had been holding it. "Arizona."

"Callie?" Arizona was quickly aware and attentive. "What's wrong? Is Sofia okay?"

Callie paused before answering. She couldn't find her voice.

"Callie?! What happened?!" Arizona shrilled.

Callie heard rustling on the other end of the line, as if Arizona was getting up and dressed.

Finally, hearing the maternal desperation in her wife's voice, Callie offered, "Oh! No, Sofia's fine. She's fine. She's asleep."

"Oh," Arizona sighed in relief.

Callie remained silent.

"Was there something...else...? It's 3:00 a.m."

"I know. I'm sorry," Callie apologized.

"I had a nightmare," she admitted. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh," Arizona's exhale was a mixture of surprise, concern, and understanding.

"I'm sorry," Callie bumbled, backtracking. "I know I don't have the right to just c—"

"No, Callie. It's okay. Just follow the advice you always used to give me. Lie back down on your back, close your eyes, and think of something good. Think of a happy memory."

Callie took a deep breath as her heart slowed. Just hearing Arizona's voice and gentle reassurances had left her at peace.

"Okay," Callie whispered. "I will." Finally, she sincerely vowed, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Arizona murmured back, smiling slightly through the phone.

"Sorry I woke you up. Really. Sleep well," Callie concluded.

"You, too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Both women hung up their phones and set them back on their side tables.

Then, Arizona settled back into her bed, hoping to fall back asleep easily. She had work early that morning. She smiled wistfully as she remembered the memory that she had always thought of when she used to have debilitating nightmares: her and Callie's wedding.

Meanwhile, Callie settled back into her bed, lying on her back and closing her eyes. Finally, she willed her brain to think of a happy memory to help her fall back asleep.

She could only think of her and Arizona's wedding.

* * *

**This may not be super realistic, but hey, I thought it was cute. And since the show is playing them as somewhat friends who have forgiven each other, I don't think it's too far off base.**

**Let me know if you like it, please! And any ideas are more than welcome :)**


	29. Chapter 29

**Callie and Arizona after 9x15.**

* * *

"I can't believe what we did today," Arizona offered as she walked towards the couch from Sofia's room. Callie was sitting there in her pajamas, reading an article on hospital management in the lamp's soft light.

Arizona sat beside her. "Buying the hospital is crazy. It's insane."

Callie shrugged, turning to look at her wife. "Maybe. But, you didn't see it over at Pegasus. They were treating patients so...formulaically. And it didn't make them more productive. It made them bad doctors. I don't want us to have to be like that."

"I guess so." Arizona sighed. "But, still... we don't know anything about buying or running a hospital."

Callie held up the paperwork she was clutching. "We can figure it out. I hope."

"Yay," Arizona commented flatly.

"Yay," Callie sighed in agreement. This hadn't been in their plan, and it certainly wasn't something they were happy about.

Arizona yawned unwillingly. "Are you ready for bed?"

Callie covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her own yawn. "Not yet. I want to get through this reading first."

Arizona hummed sympathetically. "I'll sit here with you, then."

"No, you're exhausted!" Callie countered. "Come here." She patted her lap, signaling for Arizona to lie her head on it.

Arizona, who was too tired to argue, changed positions so that she could stretch out along the length of the couch and gently lie her head on her wife's thighs. Once she did, she hummed in approval. She was exhausted, and Callie was warm.

Callie grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and gently placed it over Arizona's body. Then, she settled back into reading the boring academic article, entertaining herself by mindlessly running her fingers through Arizona's feathery blonde hair.

This simple tender moment salvaged Callie and Arizona's difficult day, as each woman savored the feeling of the other and took a deep, relaxing breath at last.


	30. Chapter 30

**Callie being there for Arizona. (Mid-11x14) (A la Merder)**

* * *

"Amelia, how's Herman doing?" Callie asked as gently as she could as she approached the smaller woman.

Amelia took a deep breath, noticeably worried. "She's still in a coma. I don't know if she's going to wake up."

Callie sighed, thinking of Arizona. Her ex-wife had already faced so much loss. It wasn't fair. "What do you think?" she asked. "Professionally. Do you think she can? Can she make it?"

"I don't know," Amelia shrugged sadly. "The surgery was completely unprecedented. "I'm trying to stay hopeful, though."

"Okay." Callie smiled softly. "Have you seen Arizona?"

"She was in there with 'er the last time I checked."

"Thanks," Callie said before she hastened towards Nicole Herman's room in the ICU. From outside the window pane-walled room, Callie looked at Arizona. She was holding her mentor's hand and looking so desperate and hopeful. She jumped slightly at even the smallest change in her stats and pressure.

Hesitantly, Callie slid aside the door and walked inside.

Arizona looked up towards the intruder, then smiled slightly when she saw that it was only Callie. "Hey," she breathed.

"Hey," Callie whispered back. "Any change?"

Arizona shook her head. "Not yet."

Callie nodded, not knowing what to say to comfort the other woman. "Have you eaten anything tonight?"

"No," Arizona shook her head.

"Can you eat?"

Arizona blinked at the brunette. "No."

Callie sighed sympathetically, dragging a chair across the room to sit beside her. "How can I help?" she murmured, concerned.

Arizona let out a shaky breath. "Just, you...being here is," she swallowed. "And don't say anything. Just be here, th— that helps."

"Okay," Callie nodded solemnly. She put her hand on Arizona's back and the blonde smiled up at her before refocusing her attention on her comatose friend, praying that she would wake up.

Callie prayed that she would, too.


	31. Chapter 31

**"I feel...like every single thing I'm doing is wrong."**

**Callie said this in 11x08. What happened the night before? (Post 11x07)**

* * *

"Come on, Sof. It's time for bed." Callie tiredly walked up to the little black-haired girl and picked her up.

"Mommy, nooo!" she whined.

"Yes. It's already past your bedtime," Callie insisted.

Sofia wailed, squirming in her mother's arms. She wanted to play some more.

Callie held her more insistently, not wanting to drop Sofia in her tantruming state. Despite Callie's complete exhaustion and lack of patience after her long and draining work day, she worked to soften her voice. "I'll read you a quick story first, okay?" She set her down on her bed.

Sofia pouted her lower lip out. It was a mannerism she had picked up from Arizona. Arizona always made that face when she didn't get her way. It was so cute on Sofia, though, that it almost made Callie burst out laughing.

Callie smiled maternally at her little girl. "How about we read..._Love You Forever_. You liked this book the last time Mommy read it to you, remember? It's a good one."

Sofia nodded, and Callie got into bed with her, wrapping her arm around her daughter and pulling her close.

She spoke softly, beginning, "A mother held her new baby and very slowly rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth..."

When she transitioned from reading the part of the narrator to that of the mother and her voice inflection stayed the same, Sofia complained, "No! You're doing it wrong!"

"What?" Callie shifted to look at her four-year-old.

"Mommy weads it better. I want her to wead to me."

Callie sighed. She was getting tired of explaining this. "Sweetie, Mommy's not here right now. She can read it to you tomorrow night."

"Nooo," Sofia cried.

Callie sighed, closing the book. This was hopeless. "How about I just tuck you in, and we'll both go to bed? Then, tomorrow, we can have pancakes for breakfast!"

Sofia smiled through her tears at that idea. "Otay."

"Okay." Callie busied herself pulling up the covers to Sofia's chin, then picking up the little girls stuffed animals from the floor and tossing them to the end of the bed.

"You're doing it wong!" Sofia insisted from her watchful position in bed. "Mommy puts Beawy and Kitty next to me. I want Mommy!"

Callie took a shaky and exaggerated breath. "I know. I'm doing it all _wrong_." Barely audible, she breathed, "I want Mommy, too." Finally, she placed Sof's favorite stuffed animals beside her little head and then bent down to kiss her forehead.

"I love you, sweetie. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," Sofia peeped.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite." Callie smiled as she turned off the light and shut the door.

Once in the hallway, she leaned back against the closed door and let her tears fall. Every single thing she was doing was..._wrong_. She ambled to her bedroom to try to get some sleep, but it was hard. The bed felt cold and empty. She knew in her heart she made the right decision to walk out of couples' therapy, but still, she missed her wife. And, tonight, it definitely felt like the wrong call.

* * *

**I hope it wasn't confusing that I used the term "Mommy" for Arizona. I know that, in Season 8, she was considered "Mama," but as of season ten, they've used "Mommy" interchangeably. **

**Let me know what you think, please!**


	32. Chapter 32

**I've been getting super tired of characters (ahem, Amelia and Owen) thinking that Callie is a lesser doctor because she's an orthopedic surgeon. I wanted to write something quick that made it clear that Arizona respects her professionally and her specialty. Let me know what you think! **

**Set Season 11, post-separation.**

* * *

"Jo!" Arizona called out to her resident roommate as she strolled up to her.

"Yes, Dr. Robbins?" Jo asked.

"You're on my service today. You haven't gotten to work with me yet, and I want to see what you're made of. Come on, we have rounds."

"Yes, ma'am," Jo conceded, waving goodbye to Stephanie as she hurried to catch up to Arizona's hurried power walk.

"So," Arizona prompted as they walked down the hall of the Peds Ward, "Who have you enjoyed working with so far? Have you started thinking about your specialty?"

Jo paused before responding. This was the most telling, personal question anyone could ask a resident. It would say more about who Jo was than any scientific personality test. It revealed everything about a surgeon.

"Um," Jo began nervously. "I really enjoyed working with Dr. Torres. She was amazing."

Arizona smiled despite herself. "Yeah, she is. Amazing," she marveled. "You know, she's the only reason Dr. Shepherd can operate again after the plane crash."

Jo raised her eyebrows. "Oh, yeah. Wow."

Arizona grinned. "Dr. Torres is a genius. But, lucky for you, so am I," she walked through the door of a patient's room. "Which means that you and I get to give Max here a new lung today."

"Wow," Jo said in awe, looking at the little boy in front of her. She knew that she should feel bad for him, but mostly, she was just grateful that he needed a transplant. What could she say, she was a surgical junkie.

Arizona smiled and whispered, "And then, if there's time after, we can go check out an Ortho surgery since you're interested in that. I heard that Torres is rebuilding a man's legs at four."

"Really?" Jo squealed.

Arizona smiled at her, then approached the little boy. "How are you doing, Max? Ready for the big day?"


	33. Chapter 33

**What happened in 7x16: "This isn't my dream."**

* * *

"You didn't think it was...that impressive," Callie observed.

"Sure," Arizona replied sarcastically. "He handled it. And not like a four-year-old." She sighed, looking up at Callie curtly before returning to fake-reading the newspaper in front of her. "Is that supposed to make me excited?"

Callie was dumbfounded. "I thought I was supposed to be the cranky, hormonal one."

Arizona finally made eye contact with her girlfriend. So, she was being a little passive aggressive. She knew that. But, could Callie seriously blame her? "I'm not cranky," she insisted.

"Mm," Callie hummed doubtfully.

"I don't get excited about Mark. I'm not _delighted_ by Mark. I love _you_. And I can honestly say that I'm gonna love this baby."

Callie smiled.

"But Mark? I somehow ended up agreeing to a lifetime with," she shrugged unhappily, "...Mark. A lifetime of decisions: bottle or sippy cup, basketball or tap, Dartmouth...Berkeley."

Callie's eyes pleaded with the blonde, but Arizona wouldn't look at her girlfriend.

"Christmas morning. With...Mark."

Callie leaned back, exasperated. "Okay." She couldn't deal with this tonight.

"I never picked him. And I don't hate him, but I don't want a life with him. And, yet, somehow that's...what I got." Arizona smiled sadly.

"What am I supposed to do?" Callie asked. She felt lost. "Kick him out? I mean, it's _his_ kid."

"Yeah," Arizona agreed, appearing to refocus on the newspaper at hand but not actually reading anything. "You don't need to remind me of that. I never, ever forget that."

"Wow," Callie rolled her eyes. "Okay. We're going to go down that road again."

Again, Arizona folded up the newspaper. "Okay, can we just be honest about the fact that this is some kind of 'bi dream come true'? I mean, you get the woman that you love, and the guy best friend who's also a great lay, and then you get a baby. I mean, you get it all," she laughed darkly. "And me? It's...this is not my dream. My dream, doesn't look like this." She turned back to her newspaper. She didn't have the energy to get into this anymore. This was just her new reality. She had to accept it. She knew she had to accept it. It was just hard.

Her body language made it clear that she didn't want to talk about this anymore, but Callie felt like she couldn't just leave things like this. She was tired, but she knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep knowing that Arizona was having such a tough time.

"Arizona..." Callie breathed pleadingly. "Can we please talk about this?"

Arizona turned the page of the newspaper. "Nothin' left to say."

Callie ducked her head a little to try to catch the blonde's eye. Arizona ignored her.

Callie: "Would you please look at me?"

Arizona sighed, then finally turned her head to meet Callie's eyes.

"I'm sorry that you don't like it that Mark's in this now. That he's our family. And I'm sorry that it's the constant reminder that I had sex with him. But, Arizona..."

The blonde sighed. The truth was that nothing Callie said would make her feel any better.

Callie forged on, despite Arizona's sardonic expression, "You have to understand that the only reason I had sex with Mark was because I missed you."

Arizona's eyes widened.

"You left me heartbroken in the middle of the airport, and you didn't ever call. I waited for you. I didn't get out of bed for three days. I was so sad...and lonely."

Arizona let out an empathetic breath, finally shifting on the couch to move towards Callie, placing a reassuring hand on her thigh. Callie eagerly grabbed it with her own and intertwined their fingers.

"I didn't do it because I like Mark or am attracted to him. I'm not. I just missed you. I was drunk, and I missed you, and he was there."

Arizona gave the slightest of nods, feeling a little better. Mark at least wasn't a romantic threat. He was just a friend. Family. He'd be in their lives forever, but Arizona would be the only one of them who was With Callie for the rest of their lives.

"Okay?" Callie asked pleadingly, desperate to lift Arizona's mood.

Arizona offered a slight smile. "Okay," she whispered.

"And, hey," Callie began, trying to lighten the mood, "Think about how much money we'll save on childcare. When we want to get away to a beach to drink sangrias, we can just leave the baby at Mark's."

Arizona smiled almost genuinely. "You in a bikini?" She recalled.

"Of course," Callie grinned, "As soon as I lose the stupid baby weight. I feel so fat already."

Arizona leaned in and left a tender kiss on the brunette's lips. "More of you to love," she insisted.

Callie let out a wavering breath, thankful for having successfully assuaged Arizona's insecurities. Just a little.

"Seriously. You're hot," Arizona vowed.

Callie blushed, beaming.

"How about," Arizona husked into her ear, "I show you just how hot I find you."

"Mmm," Callie acknowledged flirtatiously, raising her eyebrows.

"Come on," Arizona stood up, pulling Callie up with her and leading them towards their bedroom. She knew that she still wasn't completely okay with the whole Mark situation, but for tonight, she was willing to let it go. She had a beautiful girlfriend, and she would have a beautiful baby.

And for tonight, that was enough.


	34. Chapter 34

**Post-elevator scene in 7x12**

* * *

"You want another chance?" Callie tested.

"Yes. More than anything. I want another chance," Arizona smiled hopefully.

"Today I found out that I'm pregnant. With Mark's baby."

Arizona's smile slowly fell.

"How about now?"

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open towards the first floor lobby, but neither woman moved.

Callie stared at Arizona, and Arizona stared at Callie. The challenge hung in the air: would Arizona bail or take the second chance?

Arizona could bail. It wouldn't be easy; of course it wouldn't be easy. She was in love with Callie. But, Callie, pregnant? By Mark? That wasn't in her plan. That wasn't her dream. She could bail.

But she had just asked Callie for a second chance. She had just begged for one. And this was her opportunity. To be a good man in a storm.

The elevators closed again. It was just the two of them, each trembling at the weight of Arizona's decision.

There was such a thin line between Callie realizing her dream and being utterly heartbroken. And Arizona was dancing right in the middle of it. She was the only person who could determine Callie's happiness. Arizona was Callie's happy ending, but was Callie Arizona's?

Arizona was scared. Of the hard stuff. Of forgiving. Of committing. Because this was it. This was committing long term. This was committing to being a parent.

The weight of the decision wasn't lost on her. But, staring into big, brown eyes, Arizona knew that the choice was simple. The choice was Callie. The choice would always be Callie.

Arizona let out a shaky breath, one she only then realized then that she had been holding. "Let's go home," she whispered. Then, she turned towards the double doors and away from Callie decidedly. She looked down at her hands and saw that they were shaking. Her breath came out unevenly. Her heart refused to slow.

Callie's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. She hadn't expected this. But, she followed Arizona's lead, turning her body to face the still closed doors.

When the elevator dinged and the doors opened again, Arizona took a chance and reached out for Callie's hand. Even though she hadn't said it, wasn't ready to say it, she needed the woman she loved to know that she was in this. That she wanted to be with her, even now. That she was in this thing.

Callie quickly brought her hand to meet Arizona's; they intertwined their fingers and clenched their hands together as tightly as they could, relishing even this simple connection after so many weeks apart.

Arizona stalked through the elevator and then through the double doors of the hospital with Callie trailing behind, half-jogging to catch up. When they were finally side-by-side, the taller woman took a second to really look at Arizona: her eyes were fixed straight ahead, her eyebrows were knit together, and her bottom lip was caught between her teeth.

Callie wanted to ask what the blonde was thinking, but she was scared of the answer. So, she didn't. She just let Arizona lead them into the apartment building, up the stairs, and into apartment 502.

Once inside, she released Callie's hand. She cleared her throat. "Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

Callie was puzzled. "I'm fine," she croaked.

Arizona let out a wavering breath. "Okay." She paused. "Let's sit." She made her way towards the couch.

Callie hesitated before following. Finally, she sat down beside the beautiful blonde.

"What happened?" Arizona asked, direct.

Callie wet her lips in dread. "What do you think happened, Arizona? Mark and I had sex."

Arizona closed her eyes, rubbing her hand against her face. "Right."

Callie reached out and grabbed her hand away. She held it in her own. "I'm sorry," she pleaded. "You left me at the airport, and..." She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what she _could_ say.

Arizona breathed heavily, trying to keep her emotions under control. She felt a sting behind her eyes, threatening tears. She _hated_ to cry. Her father had raise her not to. Her brother used to make fun of her when she did. Arizona Robbins was not a crier. She was stoic. She couldn't cry. Not now. Not over this.

Before she could stop it, a tear rolled down her cheek. She felt a sob build in her chest. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold back the waterworks. She hunched over, curling into herself and putting her head in her hands as a sob racked over her body.

"Arizona..." Callie breathed. She couldn't stand seeing the woman she loved in so much pain, even if Arizona had been the one to leave. Before she could stop herself, Callie pulled Arizona into her arms and held her as tightly as she could.

At the feeling of human contact, Arizona began to sob harder. That always happened, and it was why she usually worked hard to remain a distance away from people when she was upset. Tonight, she was beyond caring about her tears, though.

Callie knew her. Callie loved her. Callie wasn't going to tell her to be strong. Not now. Not tonight. Callie was more acutely aware of her flaws than anyone else in her life. And Callie was here, planting soft kisses on every piece of skin she could find: her hands, her arms, her temple, her neck...

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Callie murmured, almost inaudibly between each gentle touch of her lips to Arizona's smooth, white skin.

Finally, after she was completely spent and dehydrated with no tears left, Arizona began to straighten. As Arizona shifted to sit up, Callie stopped running her fingers gently through Arizona's hair and looked at the other woman. Arizona had mascara trails running down her cheeks and worry lines all over her face. Her eyes were the shade of the sea, and just as wet.

She moved to cup the blonde's wet, tired face, using her thumbs to wipe the drying tears from her cheeks. Arizona closed her eyes, relishing the touch she had so deeply yearned for in the weeks of Callie's absence.

When Arizona finally opened her eyes, Callie whispered meekly, "What now?" She was terrified that Arizona might just tell her to get the hell out and never come back. It was a very real possibility.

"Now," Arizona sighed, "We sleep. I'm not ready to talk. Not yet. Not today. You can sleep in my bed, and I'll sleep here. And then we'll talk in the morning."

Callie nodded solemnly. Uncertainty was at least better than rejection. "Okay." She stood up and moved to walk towards the bedroom, but Arizona grabbed her hand. Callie turned back, confused, and Arizona stood up to face her.

The two women stood before each other silently, each feeling a distinct tingling sensation throughout their bodies caused by the other person.

Callie felt her hair stand on end.

She couldn't breathe.

Arizona felt goosebumps coat her skin.

She felt her heart beat in her ears.

They both felt this incredible compulsion to wrap the other into a tight embrace, but neither one of them knew how to initiate it.

Callie felt somersaults in the pit of her stomach.

Arizona's arms ached with a need to touch Callie. All of Callie. Just her hand wasn't enough.

Finally, at an impasse, Arizona smiled softly and released Callie's hand. "Goodnight."

Callie wavered awkwardly. Her arms raised slightly as if to reach out to Arizona, but she quickly lowered them back to hang beside her thighs.

Her fingers were shaking with how much she wanted to feel Arizona. But she was too scared to reach out. "Goodnight." Her tone was hesitant and unsure, but she slowly turned around and ghosted towards the bedroom. At the doorway, she turned to look back at Arizona. The blonde hadn't moved an inch. Finally, Callie walked inside and lightly shut the door.

After several minutes of silent brooding and thinking, Arizona refocused her eyes and returned to reality. Callie had shut the door to the bedroom, and Arizona was left in the living room alone. She tiptoed towards one of her packing boxes and took out some clothes she could use as pajamas, then curled up on the couch, laying a blanket over her and praying for sleep.

She needed to sleep so that she could talk to Callie in the morning. She needed to sleep so that she could make the right decision. She knew what was right already, but she needed to sleep so that she could have the courage to say it.

Callie was worth it. She needed to remember that.


	35. Chapter 35

**Callie going to Mer for advice. Sort of. I don't know. Set post-11x18ish.**

* * *

Meredith spotted Callie from across the cafeteria and made eye contact with her.

Callie nodded back in acknowledgement, then hurriedly paid for her food and strolled over to sit beside Meredith.

"What's up?" Callie greeted as she sat down. "Where is everyone?"

"Alex is in surgery and Maggie had a consult," Meredith offered between mouthfuls.

"Mmm," Callie replied, biting into her apple. "Hey," she said after a minute, looking up.

Meredith stilled, French fry in hand.

"You and Derek have loved each other for, what? Eleven years now?"

Meredith shrugged. "Give or take."

"_HOW_?" Callie laughed, marveling. "Seriously! How have you made it work, despite everything?"

Meredith made a face, shoving the fry into her mouth. "Are you going back to Arizona?" she deadpanned.

"What?!" Callie asked. "No! No way. I was just wondering," she said defensively.

Meredith narrowed her eyes at her friend, and guiltily, Callie insisted, "Seriously."

Finally, Meredith replied, "We promised each other that we'd love each other, even when we hate each other. Neither one of us gets to walk out when things get hard."

Callie snorted. "That explains where Arizona and I went wrong. We're the queens of walking out."

Meredith gave her a slight pity smile.

"But promising to love each other even when you hate each other, that really works?"

"Yeah," Meredith admitted. "Because even when one of us makes a mistake, we know each other well enough to know that there was a reason that we did what we did. Or we fix the problem."

"What if it can't be fixed?" Callie asked, genuinely curious.

Meredith pursed her lips. Usually, she was of few words, and when she did speak, it was rarely about something so personal. "So far, with a lot of work, everything's been fixable."

Callie sighed, working to return to her usual, more playful demeanor. "I wish I hated Arizona."

Meredith smirked. "Even if you did, you'd still love her."

* * *

**I hope this wasn't too bad! When I thought of the idea, I was originally going to go somewhere with it...but then I forgot my point along the way. Sigh. Happy Monday, peeps! Hope all is well.**


	36. Chapter 36

**Post-9x12.**

* * *

As they sat eating a late dinner of their own after putting Sofia to bed, Callie asked hopefully, "So, what movie do you want to watch?"

Arizona was clearly troubled. Her eyes were fixed in a faraway gaze, and her mouth was set in a grimace. Finally, refocusing, she looked at Callie. "What?"

Callie smiled hesitantly. Things had been so good, lately. She hoped that they would stay that way. "Movie night tonight, remember?"

Arizona knit her eyebrows together. She didn't remember.

"We talked about it this morning..."

"Oh," Arizona nodded. "Yeah. Sounds fun."

Callie pursed her lips. "You forgot. We don't have to..." she looked down at her plate, not wanting to give away her disappointment.

"No! Callie," she reached for her wife's arm. "I want to."

Callie looked up at her and nodded.

"Seriously."

"Great," Callie smiled genuinely. She _had_ been looking forward to spending more alone time with Arizona. She had missed that.

After they finished eating, Callie and Arizona cleaned up the kitchen and did the dishes; then, they ambled into the living room to find something to watch. Arizona sat on the couch while Callie sorted through their DVDs. "Pretty Woman?" she asked. "Mr. &amp; Mrs. Smith? Castaway?"

Arizona just shrugged, clearly still troubled.

Callie wanted to ask what was wrong, but she was scared Arizona would get defensive or accuse her of prying as she had been. So, she chose to ignore her unsettling demeanor.

"Your choice," Arizona finally said, hoping that the smile she plastered onto her face was believable.

"Castaway it is. You know how much I love Tom Hanks" Callie grinned.

Arizona tried to match it, but really, she was in pain. Lots of it. All she really wanted to do was sit on the cold floor of the bathroom with the mirror between her legs, but she couldn't. She needed to be a wife again, and that meant pretending that everything was okay.

Callie grabbed the remote and moved to sit beside Arizona, putting her arm around her.

Arizona sighed, one almost of relief. Somehow, the feeling of Callie's skin always helped. It always had. And, right now, it made the pain in her non-existent knee just a little less severe.

The pain began to subside as she focused on the movie and on Callie's arm around her. But, suddenly, his plane crashed. _Oh, yeah_. Arizona had forgotten about that.

"Shit," Callie muttered. She had forgotten about it, too. She didn't know what to do. Stop the movie? Comfort Arizona? Would Arizona think she was being overly concerned, again?

Arizona's eyes. Callie tried to look into them, but they had gone empty.

It had been a trigger, and Arizona was remembering.

_The sound of sudden curses. The plane was swaying awkwardly. The pilot was yelling. They were all looking at each other confused, and then they started falling. Crashing. Hitting trees along the way, lighting fire to a wing, coming apart. Arizona looked behind her and saw the sky where Lexie had been. They were talking, and yelling, and screaming, and falling, and crashing._

_And then, _

_nothing. _

_Nothing, until Arizona felt a pain so agonizing that she was certain that she had to be in Hell. No living human being could possibly live through a feeling like that._

_Then she was screaming again. _

_She couldn't stop._

_Then she was sitting up. God, how much it even hurt to move._

_Then she was ripping apart her scrub pants to assess the damage._

_Then she was staring at bone._

Arizona sucked in a shaky breath. Her leg hurt. Her. Leg. HURT. From her toes to her thigh. She felt shockwaves of pain through the length of her left leg. "Mmm," she yell-moaned before she could stop herself.

Quickly, the movie stopped, and Callie's hands were everywhere. "What do you need?!" she begged. "What can I do?!" God, how stupid she had been to choose to watch Castaway. She had forgotten about the crash part.

"Mirror," she mouthed.

"What?"

"Mirror. From. Our. Bathroom," she managed between mangled breaths.

"Right," Callie shot up, knowing immediately what her wife wanted. She ran to the bathroom, grabbed the full-length mirror off the wall where it hung, and rushed back to Arizona, who had removed her prosthesis and collapsed on the floor, waiting.

"Here," Callie offered, setting it between the blonde's thighs. Arizona quickly began flexing and moving her right leg, tricking her brain into thinking that it was actually her left leg and that she was just fine. Her breathing was labored and shallow.

Quickly, Callie scurried onto the couch, settling with one leg on either side of Arizona's body on the floor. She began kneading the tense muscles of her wife's neck and back, praying that it would somehow help her.

And, in conjunction with the mirror, it seemed to. After several minutes, she heard Arizona's breathing even out and her muscles finally relaxed under Callie's hands.

"I'm so sorry," Callie apologized meekly.

Arizona closed her eyes and continued to focus on her breathing. "It's okay. You didn't know."

"You'd think I would've remembered a detail like that. We've seen it dozens of times."

Arizona shrugged. "I know. Me, too. I guess it just felt so fictional and impossible before."

Callie bent down and kissed Arizona's hair. "This hasn't happened before, though, right? Usually you just get phantom pains at night."

Arizona hesitated. She didn't _want_ to lie, but more than that, she didn't want Callie to see her like some poor, pathetic, PTSD-stricken patient. "Right."

Callie moved her hands up and down Arizona's tense arms and shoulders. "You wanna watch something else to distract you? Or go to bed?"

Arizona shut her eyes, trying to ward off any other unfortunate memories. She felt pain stab at her shin. Ouch. "Can we just...sit here. For a bit."

"Of course," Callie whispered. She grabbed a throw pillow from the other side of the couch and placed it behind Arizona's back, wanting to make her at least a little less uncomfortable. "We'll stay here for as long as you need."

* * *

**HAPPY TUESDAY, FRIENDS! I'm getting sooo excited about Thursday's PTSD episode lskdfkjlssk;df. Hope everyone's good!**


	37. Chapter 37

**Pre- 8x05.**

* * *

Callie, Arizona, and Mark were all sitting on the rug in Callie and Arizona's apartment just ogling at their perfect baby girl.

"Sofia, Sofia, Sofia," Mark sang as he cradled the smiling black-haired baby. "What's that?" he asked, leaning towards her as if she was speaking to him. "I'm your favorite parent? Aw, damn right."

Arizona and Callie looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"She better not get your ego," Arizona groaned.

Callie laughed. "True."

"Hey!" Mark burst out. "Confidence is a virtue."

"Uh huh," Arizona conceded sarcastically. "Give me the baby. It's my turn."

"No way!" Mark childishly moved away from the blonde. "I just got her!"

"Mark!" Callie interjected. Mark met her eyes, and she glared at him. Hard.

"Fineeee. Here," he handed Arizona the baby.

"Hi!" Arizona cooed once Sofia was in her arms. "Hi, beautiful. Daddy's wrong, huh? He's not your favorite. _I'm_ your favorite. Isn't Mama your favorite?"

Before Mark could protest, Sofia reached her arms up towards Arizona and babbled, "Mama."

Arizona looked up at Callie, her eyes wide. Callie was equally as surprised. "Did she just call you 'Mama'?" she put her hand on her wife's back and leaned closer. "Say it again, Sof!"

Arizona bent back over her daughter, grinning. "Who am I, Sof? Am I your Mama?"

The baby giggled. "Mama!"

Callie, Arizona, and Mark laughed with her, in complete awe of this adorable, growing tiny human.

"I can't believe I don't have the camera!" Mark burst out. "I'll be back!" he ran towards his apartment.

"Mama...Mama...Mama," Sofia continued to babble, excited about her new word and her parents' excited reactions.

Arizona felt her heart swell. She had never thought she could love a baby so much until now. But she did. She adored Sofia. She loved her daughter with all her heart.

Callie moved her hand to Sofia, tickling her tiny little tummy with the tips of her fingers. The baby squirmed happily under her touch.

Arizona looked at Callie, feeling a wave of love wash over her. She had never thought she could be this happy. She had a beautiful wife and a beautiful daughter: both things she had never seen coming. But, boy she was grateful for her life now.

She leaned her head onto Callie's shoulder, nuzzling her nose against the darker woman's neck before turning back to look at the adorable bundle of joy situated in her arms.

Callie rested her head on Arizona's, smiling wistfully at their baby girl.

Mark had brought his camera from his apartment and was walking towards them. He stopped a few feet away. "Wait. No one move. Just keep doing what you're doing."

"Oh...kay?" Callie laughed, but along with Arizona, she continued gazing at Sofia.

"Don't move, Cal! This picture is perfect." He snapped the shot. He paused and looked at the playback screen. "Yup," he insisted. "This one deserves a frame."


	38. Chapter 38

**Post-11x18. An act of love.**

* * *

Arizona was exhausted. Absolutely exhausted. She'd been at work for eighteen hours straight, and all she could think about was picking her little girl from daycare and heading home. But first, she made her final rounds through the Peds Ward, smiling at the sleeping kids and chatting to the awake ones, trying to make their tough days just a little brighter.

As she rounded the next corner, she came across something she hadn't been expecting. A still-scrubbed, sound-asleep Callie, slouched over in a chair beside the hospital bed of a young girl.

Arizona allowed herself to marvel at the sleeping beauty from the hallway before she stopped a passing intern. The nervous intern looked up from his chart and met her eyes.

"What's Dr. Torres doing in there?" she asked curiously.

"Um," the intern hesitated anxiously, "She did the surgery with Dr. Karev, but the patient's mother had to go home to her two other kids. So, Dr. Torres said she'd stay with the girl."

Arizona was silent for a second, just a hint of a smile grazing her lips. Callie was an incredible doctor, but she was an even better person. Finally, regaining her serious attending demeanor, she turned back to the young intern. "Dr..."

"Andersen."

"Andersen. Make sure to round every hour, and call your superior if you need any help."

"Yes, Dr. Robbins," the intern saluted her awkwardly.

Arizona turned to walk away, before turning back around. "Oh, and why don't you go put a blanket over Dr. Torres? It's cold in here."

"I'll do that right now, Dr. Robbins."

Arizona nodded before walking towards the elevator again, heading down to pick Sofia up from daycare at last.

Meanwhile, intern Dr. Andersen walked down the hall and grabbed a blanket for Dr. Torres. He softly slid open the door to the patient's hospital room, tiptoeing towards the attending and gently placing the blanket over her sleeping body.

Callie stirred, feeling a new presence in the room. She looked down, noticing the blanket, and looked up, noticing the intern. She smiled groggily. "Thanks. You didn't have to do that."

Dr. Andersen shrugged awkwardly. "Dr. Robbins told me to. She said you looked cold."

Callie raised her eyebrows. "Arizona Robbins?" she clarified.

The intern nodded.

Callie smiled slightly. "Well, thanks."

Dr. Andersen backed out the door, and Callie pulled the blanket up to her neck, snuggling deeper into it as she tried to fall back asleep.

Minutes later, wrapped in the warm blanket, she fell back asleep: still smiling.

* * *

**Again, I suppose this one-shot is less realistic than a lot of my others, but I'm just so desperate to see our girls progressing to getting back together! They're MFEO, after all!**

**Speaking of which, I think reconciliation is coming soon. Like, this season soon. What do you all think?**

**ALSO, more than progress, I want to see an act of love from Arizona. Since the plane crash, we've seen her SAY "I love you" a bunch, but after 11x05, I've felt that they're all kind of tainted. She's said it when she's scared, so I think it's come from a place of fear, **_**need**_**, and codependency, as opposed to **_**want**_** and love. And Callie's noticed that, too.**

**We haven't actually seen Arizona SHOW Callie that she loves her. So, here is the tiniest of examples. I don't know.**

**More personal news: I will be done with my first year of college in 8 weeks! Yay!**

**Hope y'all are good.**


	39. Chapter 39

**Callie calls Arizona. 8x24.**

* * *

While Callie was lying in bed, waiting for the sound of Arizona's keys through the door, she began to get a little impatient. Here she was, hot and in lingerie with body paint at the ready, and her even hotter wife was nowhere to be found. Arizona was already thirty minutes late, and Callie was getting antsy.

Sighing, she sat up in bed and reached for her phone. Quickly, she dialed Arizona's cell phone number and held it up to her ear.

After six rings, it went to voicemail. "Hey," Callie smiled. "I know you're probably driving home and can't answer the phone. But I just wanted to let you know that you are in for a very, very" she lowered her voice to sultry husk, "sexy surprise." She laughed, breaking character. "Anyway, I miss you! And I'm hot and horny and getting impatient, so hurry! See you soon. Love you." She hung up the phone, grinning.

Distance really _did_ make the sex grow hotter. Callie was so ready for their sexy night to begin.

* * *

**WAAAH this is poignant. So sorry. **


	40. Chapter 40

**Callie and Arizona in therapy. (Pre 11x05) (Probably pre 11x03) (Because they were still in an ignorantly happy(ish) false lil bubble)**

**Just a little thing I felt compelled to write.**

* * *

"Callie," Dr. Dawson, the therapist, prompted, "Why don't we start with you today? What's something you would like to discuss?"

Callie sighed and looked at Arizona sitting on the couch beside her. Hesitantly, almost apologetically, she admitted, "I want to talk about the night of the storm."

Arizona stiffened uncomfortably, her face becoming an unreadable mask. Every time she thought back to the night she cheated, she felt an urge to run away. She couldn't even recognize that person.

Callie knew this face well. Arizona had always been a private person, but she had become even more guarded since the plane crash. Clearly, she was trying to hide her true emotions.

Callie reached out towards Arizona slowly, fearful that the blonde would recoil. She clasped one of the white-knuckled hands Arizona was unconsciously clutching against her thighs. She didn't mean to hurt her wife. She just needed to talk about it.

Callie looked at Arizona pointedly, and slowly, the blonde looked up to meet her stare.

"Not about the cheating," she squeezed Arizona's hand reassuringly. "We don't need to talk about that."

Arizona let out a shaky sigh of relief.

"I want to talk about what happened after." Recalling the memory of the fight they'd had, Callie released Arizona's hand. It hurt so much to think about.

Dr. Dawson took charge again. "Arizona, why don't you tell me what happened that night."

Arizona gulped. "We had a fight."

"It must've been a bad fight if Callie still wants to talk about it."

Arizona nodded. "It was." She looked at Callie, who almost regretted bringing up the subject. Arizona cleared her throat. "I said some things I regret."

"What did you say?" prompted the counselor.

Arizona inhaled sharply. She wanted to laugh. Or cry. She looked over at Callie. "She named everything we'd been through and included the plane crash, and I said it wasn't her experience. Then..." She couldn't say it.

"Then...?" Dawson prompted.

When Arizona didn't say anything else, Callie shook her head decisively. "It's okay," she whispered to the therapist. "We can start there."

"Okay," Dr. Dawson conceded. "Callie, what would you like to say about that?"

"I don't know," Callie said softly. "I just..." Tears gathered in her eyes, and she reached for a tissue on the small table beside the couch.

She looked over at Arizona. Her wife was so closed off. So unwilling, or scared, of what Callie was going to say.

Callie huffed. "I know I wasn't on the plane. I know that."

Arizona slowly turned her head to meet Callie's eyes.

"It wasn't my experience. You were right." She paused. "But, Arizona, even though my experience was far less traumatic, I went through something, too."

It was all Arizona could do to keep from rolling her eyes. _Please_.

"I had to get through four days thinking that Mark, and _you_, were dead."

Arizona flinched at Mark's name. She wanted to run far, far away. _Hah_. She could barely run at all. Maybe she could dig a hole, right here, and bury herself in it...

"Arizona..." Callie pleaded. She needed some sort of connection. Some sort of sign that her wife was hearing her.

Cautiously, Arizona looked at Callie again.

"I was waiting for you to come home that night. I was sitting in our room, in lingerie," she looked up at Dawson awkwardly, but the therapist appeared unfazed, "and then, I heard a knock on the door and got up thinking it was you."

Arizona widened her eyes. She hadn't heard this before.

"But it wasn't. Of course it wasn't. It was Alex. Alex had to be the one to tell me that you guys never made it. That the plane...crashed." Tears fell down Callie's face, and she no longer had the energy to hold them back.

Arizona nodded, finally understanding that Callie had experienced a different kind of trauma herself. And, despite everything, she reached out and grabbed Callie's hand. Callie held it as if her life depended on it.

Softly, Callie continued, "I know that you were out there for those four awful days, trying desperately to survive, but I was back here, thinking that you hadn't. You know, they didn't even send out Search-and-Rescue?"

Arizona knit her eyebrows together. _What_?

"They sent out a _recovery_ team. They figured there was no way anyone could have survived. You're my _wife_, and I thought that you were dead for four days. I kept trying to imagine you, with blue lips and a lifeless face, but I just couldn't. I can never imagine you not existing; I can't imagine a world without you. But I had to try. For four days and nights. And...That. Was," she paused as a sob threatened to rack over her body, "hard, too." Suddenly, she was a crying mess. The memories were too much. Too overwhelming. Too sad.

"Callie..." Arizona breathed, scooting towards her wife and wrapping the disintegrating woman in her arms.

Dr. Dawson considered interjecting to ask Arizona to reply, but something held her back. She thought Arizona may get there on her own, and she didn't want to disrupt the flow.

With Callie still in her arms, Arizona finally whispered, "I'm sorry."

Callie pulled away to meet her wife's tearful eyes.

"For that night. For all of it. For thinking that I was the only one who lost something."

Callie offered a slight smile. Unbeknownst to her, she'd been waiting for this apology for a long time.

"I'm sorry," Arizona repeated. She admitted: "The crash changed your life, too."

Callie nodded, thinking back to that one long, awful year she could never seem to forget.

"Thank you," Callie said solemnly. Then, she smiled, reaching for Arizona's hand and bringing it up to her lips to kiss softly. "And thank you for coming back to me."

With tears threatening to spill over her eyes, Arizona nodded appreciatively. She beamed. "I love you."

Callie let out a shaky but satisfied breath, sniffling: "I love you, too."

* * *

**Okay, so this isn't the happiest chapter or super fun to read, but I **_**do**_** think that it's pretty close to canon. They were constantly "I love you"-ing to cover up issues that weren't as forgiven as they pretended they were.**

**Let me know what you think! I'll post again soon.**


	41. Chapter 41

**Arizona in 8x24.  
**

* * *

"_ARIZONA_!" Cristina snapped suddenly. "Are you sleeping?"

Arizona looked up. "No. Not sleeping." She had been, though. Sleep was the only thing that distracted her from her agonizing thigh, the bitter cold, and Mark, lying his head on her other thigh— nearly dead.

"Good," Cristina clipped. "Don't."

Arizona nodded slightly, until a hacking cough overtook her body and she was spitting up blood.

Cristina's eyes went wide. "Is that...?"

Arizona nodded. "Must be. Pulmonary embolism. And I'm pretty sure I'm in hypovolemic shock."

Cristina wanted to scream. This couldn't be happening. They were all dying. "What else...?"

"Osteomyelitis. It's been two days, right? The bone has to be infected by now."

"Which means..." Cristina couldn't even say it.

"I'll be septic soon. And then my organs will fail. And then I'll die." Arizona tried to smile. She was completely hopeless.

After a minute, though, Cristina sprung into action. "No. You are NOT going to die. Okay? No one else is going to die." She grabbed one of the water bottles from the ground beside her and eased closer to Arizona, sitting on the side of her mangled leg. "I'm going to clean out your leg, and Callie and Owen are going to find us. They're looking, and they're going to find us."

"Maybe." Arizona knew better than to believe Cristina's optimistic words. There were miles of forest around them on all sides. There was a very real chance that, by the time they were found (_if_ they were found), they would be long dead.

A little too loudly, Cristina yelled, "Mark! Can you hear me?"

The nearly comatose man grunted slightly.

"Hold Arizona's hand," Cristina instructed. She looked at the blonde attending apologetically. "This is going to hurt. More than you can ever imagine. But, it could help. It could save your leg. Are you ready?"

Arizona grabbed Mark's hand and clutched it tightly. "Ready," she croaked. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Cristina shoved a pen through the bottle cap to create a small hole, then regretfully, began squirting the water onto and around Arizona's exposed bone and brutal leg injury.

Arizona let out a scream so loud and excruciating that it was surely breaking glass windows all the way in Seattle.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Cristina murmured as she continued to clean the wound.

A second later, the pain became too much to bear, and Arizona lost consciousness.

* * *

"Arizona? Can you hear me?"

Arizona looked around, trying to understand her surroundings. "What happened?"

"I was debriding your leg and you passed out."

Arizona looked down. _Oh, yeah. Her leg_.

Cristina turned and looked towards where Meredith and Derek must have been. Arizona couldn't see much from where she was sitting, and she couldn't move to get a peek. Cristina said, "I need to go check on Derek. Are you going to be okay for a few minutes? Don't you dare crap out and die on me." She kicked Mark's shoe. "You either."

Arizona swallowed the blood and phlegm clot that had worked its way up her throat. "We'll be okay."

Cristina nodded. "Good. Drink fluids. _Don't_ fall asleep. And, Arizona," she paused, "Think about Callie. We'll get you home to her. And Sofia. We will be fine. We have to be."

"Okay." Arizona didn't have the energy to say anything more.

After Cristina was gone and the leg pain began to consume her, Arizona decided to follow the younger doctor's advice and think of Callie. Maybe it would help her survive.

* * *

_Arizona woke up to the feeling of soft lips grazing her cheek. She stirred, and Callie whispered, "Good morning, gorgeous."_

_Arizona opened her eyes only to see the most breathtaking smile imaginable. "Good morning," she whispered back. Callie was perched on the edge of the bed, looking down lovingly at Arizona, and the blonde pulled her down towards her. She needed to feel those luscious lips over her own. _

_Callie grinned into the kiss, her smile so wide that the action became impossible. She pulled away. "Guess what?"_

_"What?" Arizona asked flirtatiously. _

_"I made _my wife_ breakfast."_

_Arizona felt her heart soar at the statement. She was Callie's _wife_. If she only heard Callie murmur those words for the rest of her life, she would die happy. Arizona dimpled and sat up in bed. "Mm. You're a good wife."_

_Callie shrugged good-naturedly. "I figured it was the least I could do to thank you for last night." She laughed, remembering their blissful, sleepless wedding night._

_Arizona laughed pridefully. "We have a lifetime of nights left together. You going to make me breakfast every morning?_

_Callie raised an eyebrow. "If they're anything like last night, then you bet."_

* * *

Arizona smiled at the memory. She needed to get through this. She needed to get home to the woman she loved.

And home to her daughter. _God, Sofia..._

* * *

_"She's going to walk tonight! I can feel it." Mark was watching Sofia from his place in the kitchen. "Look at her! She's standing. She's ready."_

_Callie and Arizona were seated on the rug, watching Sofia as she stood shakily, her little baby hands gripping the coffee table to stay upright._

_"She's only ten months! Isn't it too soon?" Callie was doubtful that it'd happen yet._

_"Babies learn to walk between nine and fifteen months," Arizona offered her professional wisdom. "And Sofia is precocious. Aren't you baby?" she cooed._

_"It's gonna happen, Cal," Mark insisted._

_"Uh huh," Callie answered dubiously._

_"Mark's right. Watch." Arizona stood up and moved to the couch, which was a few feet away from Sofia. "I'll prove it to you." She turned her attention to Sofia. "Hey, Sof, wanna try walking today?"_

_The toddler looked up._

_"Yeah! Come on, come walk to Mama."_

_Mark rounded the corner of his kitchen and sat down on the opposite couch. "No way, Robbins. She's coming to me first." He clapped his hands together to get little Sofia's attention._

_"Mark..." Callie began._

_"I've got this, Cal," Arizona winked. "Sofia! Come to Mama!"_

_The toddler took one hand off the coffee table, wanting to fulfill her mom's request._

_"Yes! You've got this, big girl! You can do it. Just walk a few steps."_

_Sofia grinned and let go of the table. She wobbled for a second before falling backwards. _

_Callie quickly picked her off the floor. "Wow, that was brave!" she praised. "Try again, baby. Go to Mama!" she pointed at Arizona, who was positively twinkling at their daughter._

_"Come on, Sof! Try again!"_

_This time, Sofia was a little more sure-footed, and she managed to stand on her own for several seconds. Finally, she teetered forward, quickly placing one foot in front of the other as she tottered towards Arizona._

_"You're doing it!" Arizona grinned. _

_"She's doing it!" Mark and Callie reiterated, ensconced in the incredible sight before them._

_"Keep going! You're almost here!" Arizona called. Sofia toddled the last few inches until, giggling, she fell into Arizona's arms. "Good girl!" Arizona hugged her._

_"Calliope..." she leveled a stare at her wife. "Look who was right again." She winked at Callie, and the brown-eyed woman winked back, beaming._

* * *

"Mark?" Arizona whispered unsteadily, praying that her child's father's heart hadn't stopped while she'd been daydreaming. "Mark?"

"I should've said it earlier," Mark croaked. "That I loved her. I should've said it earlier."

"She knew. I think she knew."

"She didn't know," Mark insisted. "She didn't know."

"Mark?" Arizona tried again. "Mark, hold on. Okay? I need you to hold on."

"You'll be okay. You don't need me. You take care of our girls."

"No. Shut up. Shut up. Do you hear me? Shut up."

"Lexie's waiting for me. I'll be okay."

"_NO_! Mark Sloan, _no._ Okay? No. Sofia's waiting for you. And Callie's waiting for you. And _I_ am _waiting_ for you. We're going to go home together, okay?"

"Okay," Mark conceded. "Okay."

"Okay," Arizona breathed. "Okay."

* * *

**Aw, man, guys. Tonight's episode gave me hope like you wouldn't believe. Here's something I wrote earlier. I'll write a missing moment from tonight soon! **

**Let me know what you think, please :) I'm a serious review junkie!**


	42. Chapter 42

**Callie and Alex talk more in depth. 11x20.**

* * *

_"Have you seen Meredith or Arizona today? Are, uh, they okay?"_

_"No, I haven't,"_

_"There ought'a be some rule that people who have been on a plane crash can't work on one."_

_Callie chuckled darkly. "That's not a bad idea."_

_"We should...uh...you know...look out for them today. You know?"_

_"Yes. Oh! Uh. No." Callie sucked in a breath. "No. Ah. I can't. I mean, I want to, but I can't be that person for Arizona. It's, uh, it's not my place. You know? Not anymore."_

_"Yeah. Right. Okay."_

* * *

## Later... ##

"Hey, Callie," Alex began as he rushed after the hurried doctor.

"What, Karev? I have patients," Callie couldn't listen to Alex's pleas to be there for Arizona, again. She would support Meredith, but she couldn't help Arizona. Not now. It wasn't her place.

"Have you seen Arizona at all? She's coming apart."

Callie let out an unsteady sigh. No. She couldn't think about Arizona. She couldn't go and comfort her.

"Maybe you could just..."

"_ALEX_!" Callie finally stopped her speed-walking to turn to the younger doctor. "I can't. Okay? I wasn't on the plane. It's just not my place. And it wasn't my experience! She and Meredith can support each other. And you can support her because she trusts you. I made the call to cut off her freakin' leg. Trust me, I'm the last person she wants to see."

Alex looked taken a back.

Callie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "I'm sorry," she shrugged. "But I'll just make her more upset than she already is."

Alex slowly nodded. "Okay." He shrugged, "Fine."

Callie gave him one last meaningful look before turning and walking away. She didn't need to think about Arizona. If something were _really_ wrong, Meredith would have mentioned it.

She needed to get some space. There was nothing else she could do.

* * *

**When Callie said she couldn't help AZ earlier in the episode, I thought she might be thinking about their fight in 9x24, so I tried to show that here. Sorry if that wasn't clear! Idk. **


	43. Chapter 43

**After 8x22.**

**Alright, guys. I can't seem to write smut for the life of me, so I've been working on this moment all day. Hope it's okay!**

* * *

"Arizona...?" Callie approached her wife with trepidation.

"Hey," Arizona smiled genuinely.

"Are you okay? I saw you with Nick..."

Arizona shook her head quickly, indicating that she didn't want to talk about it. Not here. Not now. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yeah," Callie smiled. "You ready to go get Sof?"

Arizona just nodded, scared that if she tried to speak it would just end up a sob.

"Come on," Callie whispered, throwing a protective arm over Arizona's shoulders.

They slowly made their way to the daycare to pick up Sofia, and then they all walked home. Arizona was silent through the walk to their apartment. She was scared, and heartbroken, and processing, and Callie knew her wife well enough not to push her.

They ate dinner in mostly silence, then they put a very tired Sofia to bed.

After they shut the door to Sof's room, Callie finally turned to Arizona. "Are we going to talk about this?"

Arizona shrugged and walked away from Callie and towards their bedroom. "What's there to talk about, Callie?!" she spat. "Nick's _dying_, and he doesn't have to be! He's an idiot."

Callie exhaled audibly. She'd do anything to take Arizona's pain away. Seeing her wife like this broke her heart.

Arizona flew into the bathroom, clanging and banging drawers as she looked for her face wash. When she found it, she turned on the sink and began vigorously scrubbing her face, wanting to wash the day away.

Callie moved towards Arizona, wanting to console her somehow, but the blonde side-stepped away from her.

Turning to Callie, she put up a finger and said harshly, "Don't." She grabbed a towel and dried her face.

"Arizona..." Callie breathed. She was Arizona's _wife_. She wanted to help.

Arizona shook her head. "Don't. Because if you touch me, I'll fall apart," she confided. "So _please_, Callie. Don't," she pleaded.

Callie worked to convey all the love and tenderness she felt for Arizona in her eyes, pleading, too. She needed Arizona to let her help. She needed Arizona to let her _in_.

As she watched the tears threaten to spill over her wife's eyes, Callie no longer could hold back. If it was the last thing she ever did, Callie was going to hold her wife— right there, right then, standing in the middle of their bathroom.

So, softly, she reasoned: "Your best friend might die," as gently as she could. "You're allowed to fall apart." Then, before Arizona could argue, Callie pulled her into her arms, holding her as tightly as she could.

Arizona's tears immediately turned to sobs, and she clung to Callie desperately.

Callie ran her fingers through blonde hair and kept her arm wrapped tightly around Arizona's back. She couldn't do anything else. She had no words to ease her wife's pain. She couldn't offer any other bit of consolation apart from her strong arms.

And, suddenly, Arizona was kissing her. Her pink lips were soft against Callie's, but the action itself was hard: fervent, desperate, needy. Callie brought her hands to Arizona's face and pulled her away, wanting to be able to look into her eyes.

Finally, Arizona met Callie's concerned eyes. "_Please_," Arizona sniffled quietly. She was desperate. "I need you."

Callie sighed, helpless to refuse Arizona's simple request. She knew that, in the grand scheme of things, sex wouldn't help. Nick would still die. But, if she could make Arizona feel better, even for just a second...

Callie quickly brought her lips down to meet the shorter woman's, hoping they would adequately communicate all the love she felt for Arizona without words. Callie caught Arizona's building sob in her mouth and tried to dry Arizona's tear-soaked face with the pads of her thumbs.

Arizona began backing them out of the bathroom and towards their bed. She needed Callie. She needed a release. She needed to forget.

She began working Callie's shirt up her stomach, and Callie lifted her arms obligingly. As she urgently reconnected their lips, crushing them together, Arizona reached one hand around Callie's back and unclasped her bra. As it fell to the floor, Arizona moaned into the kiss, feeling Callie's hot, naked torso against her.

Callie quickly reciprocated, blithely removing Arizona's top and discarding it. She kissed down the blonde's jaw, neck, and collar bone towards her chest, immersing herself in the feeling of her flushed skin.

Arizona dug her nails into Callie's back and tilted her head back to give her wife better access. Callie unclasped Arizona's bra and pulled their two bodies tighter together as Arizona pushed her backwards onto the bed.

They scooted up towards the headboard as one, their contact never breaking.

Callie smiled lovingly up at Arizona, who was straddling her thighs, and Arizona lowered her body onto Callie completely to leave a lingering kiss on her lips. Her nose was runny and tears were still falling, but she didn't care. She shifted so that she could hastily pull down Callie's jeans and underwear, leaving Callie completely vulnerable beneath her. Arizona felt better just by looking at her beautiful, naked wife. Even if Nick died, she would always have Callie.

Arizona brought her lips back to Callie's, kissing her desperately. _No. She wouldn't think about Nick. She wouldn't cry anymore_.

Her hands ran down Callie's body, feeling her smooth skin and soft form. Callie clutched Arizona against her, relishing the feeling of their bodies rubbing together slightly as Arizona subconsciously rolled her hips, pushing herself against Callie's abdomen.

Callie felt wetness on her cheeks, and she pulled Arizona to her more tightly as she quickly rolled their bodies over so that she could be on top. She raised her body up on her arms to look down at the older woman. Arizona's eyes were closed, but tears were still falling. "Arizona..." Callie breathed.

Arizona hesitantly lifted her lids and met Callie's eyes. "Please don't make us stop," she whispered, her voice childish and small.

Callie lifted a hand to pull a lock of Arizona's hair away from her face and tuck it behind her ear. She gently caressed a white cheek, deciding.

She pulled back and put a soft hand on Arizona's jean-clad thigh right as her wife threatened to object. She gently unbuttoned Arizona's jeans, and the blonde lifted her hips as Callie pulled off her remaining clothes. Having thrown them across the room, the taller woman crawled back over Arizona's body, settling one of her thighs between each of the blonde's.

Arizona pulled Callie's face down towards her, pressing their lips together. Her tongue slid across Callie's lips, and Callie eagerly opened her mouth as their tongues brushed together. Their kissing became frenzied, and Callie moved her hands to each of Arizona's breasts, rolling the sensitive, pink nipples with her fingers.

Arizona arched her back at the contact, adjusting Callie's body slightly so that she could feel the pressure of Callie's tanned, muscular thigh directly against her bundle of nerves.

At the feeling of Arizona's growing wetness against her thigh, Callie moaned into the kiss, pinching Arizona's nipples as they hardened. She ran her hands down Arizona's sides and lowered her hips, grinding her thigh against her wife.

Their lips momentarily detached as Arizona cried out in pleasure at the feeling. She needed this. She needed Callie.

Callie quickly put her lips back on Arizona's, kissing her wife breathlessly as Arizona lifted her hips to meet Callie's slow pace. They built up a faster rhythm, thrusting against each other, creating friction where they needed it most.

Callie felt Arizona's arousal coat her thigh, and Arizona savored the feeling of Callie easily slipping against her.

As both women edged closer to orgasm, their breathing came fast and labored. Callie pulled her lips away from Arizona as she moaned noisily, and she felt Arizona's ragged breathing against her cheek.

"Is this how you want to...?" Callie asked between breaths.

Arizona tilted her head back and groaned in response, her light hair splaying over the pillow. She rolled her hips harder against Callie, feeling the strange effervescence build in her abdomen letting her know she was close.

She opened her eyes to look at Callie, who was looking down at her lovingly, and they didn't break contact as their lips lightly continued to lightly graze, and they breathed each other's air; in that moment, they were completely unaware of the rest of the world around them. Nick wasn't dying; they had no work, no family, only each other and an almost overwhelming sense of mutual pleasure building inside them.

"Mmm! Callie..." Arizona's grunts and moans became increasingly frantic and frequent as she got closer and closer to a release. She dragged her nails down Callie's back and began jerking and tugging irregularly against Callie's thigh, rocking her body, more desperately and roughly. She was _so_ close. She needed a release.

Callie eagerly brought her lips back down to Arizona's as she matched the pulsing rhythm of the woman beneath her. She ran her hands down Arizona's thighs and pushed their bodies even tighter together, wanting to help her wife get the most out of her orgasm.

As Arizona came up for air, she tilted her head back in ecstasy, her eyelids falling shut as she peaked, screaming Callie's name: "_CAAALLIE_!"

Her body began convulsing as waves of pleasure overcame her body and a new release of fluid dripped down Callie's thigh. She gasped as her hips continued jolting erratically by their own accord. She rode out her earth-shattering orgasm, quivering and shuddering until Callie quickly followed, releasing a strangled guttural moan as her eyes glazed over at the sight of Arizona coming undone. She panted as goosebumps coated her sweat-soaked skin and shockwaves rippled through her body, again and again.

Finally, she went limp, falling beside the still-breathless Arizona. Heart still pounding, Arizona reached out for Callie's hand, needing that connection, and Callie, dazed but responsive, intertwined their fingers.

Callie turned to look at Arizona, whose tears had finally dried. Meekly, she asked, "Feel better?"

Arizona let out a long exhale. "Much."

Callie altered her position to see Arizona better. "We'll get Teddy to operate on Nick, okay? There has to be a way. We'll figure something out."

Arizona just nodded and looked up at the ceiling. She couldn't meet Callie's eyes. She couldn't fall apart now.

"Sweetie..." Callie breathed pleadingly. She moved her arm to grip Arizona's waist, silently inviting the blonde to burrow herself in Callie's naked body.

After a second of hesitation, Arizona turned her body, letting Callie pull her into a warm and comfortable embrace. Arizona pulled Callie's body flush against her own, breathing in her unique scent as the tears once again began to fall.

"It's okay," Callie soothed, alternating between running her fingers through blonde hair and rubbing the small of Arizona's back. "I'm here. It's okay. You, cry. I'm right here."


	44. Chapter 44

**Callie and Arizona stuff (don't want to give too much away, but it's between 9x11-9x18).**

**(Inspired by 11x20)**

* * *

"Hey!" Arizona greeted Callie as she waltzed over to where her wife was standing by the nurse's station.

"Heeey!" Callie greeted her merrily. "Are you going home?"

"Yeah, I'm headed down to go pick up Sofia right now. What time do you think you'll be home?"

Callie looked up at the clock on the wall. "By 9:30? Hopefully before."

"Kay," Arizona smiled. "I'll see you then," Arizona squeezed Callie's arm and began walking away.

"Kiss Sofia goodnight for me!" Callie called after her.

"I will!"

* * *

After Arizona put Sofia to bed, she decided to curl up on the couch to read her worn copy of _Wild_ for the umpteenth time. Arizona had trouble focusing, though; she was anxious for Callie to get home so that Arizona could tell her about the amazing never-before-done surgery she'd rocked that day.

She was just anxious for Callie to get home. She didn't like to be alone.

After a few more minutes of restless reading, Arizona got up and went into the kitchen to check the time and get some water.

9:31. That was what the clock read.

Callie was _late_. She had told Arizona that she'd be home _by_ 9:30, and she was late.

Arizona tried to bury the sudden sense of panic she felt. _Callie is fine. I'm fine. She's just a little late_. _I'm okay_.

Arizona sat back down on the couch, wrapping a blanket tightly around her. _I'm fine! Callie is fine! Everything is fine!_

Arizona checked her phone: 9:33.

She let out a shaky breath_. I shouldn't be worried, right_? _I shouldn't be scared._

She was scared, though. She was scared of being alone, and she was scared that something had happened to Callie. Quickly, she dialed Callie's number. It was 9:35.

The phone rang: One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six times. Callie's voicemail picked up.

Arizona felt the panic overtake her. Her heart took off in her chest, and her breaths became shallow and labored.

She was a doctor, and she was having a panic attack.

Hands shaking from lack of oxygen, she tried to dial Callie's number once again. She couldn't dial properly. Her hands were tense. She couldn't move her fingers. She couldn't breathe.

She closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing. _Callie is fine. I'm fine. I'm okay._

It didn't slow, though, because Callie could've been hit by a car. Or a bus. Or shot by a gunman. Or she could've decided that life with Arizona was too hard and hopped on a plane to Africa.

Arizona couldn't breathe.

Arizona.

Couldn't.

Breathe.

She was getting dizzy. She couldn't move.

Again, she tried to take a deep breath. She took a sip from the water glass beside her. She forced herself to swallow. It was 9:41, but Callie would be there. She'd be there soon.

Finally, Arizona heard keys in the door jamb. She rushed off the couch, white blanket still wrapped around her from head to toe, towards Callie.

Callie opened the door and began tiptoeing inside, only to be attacked by what appeared to be a ghost. "AHHHH!" she screamed, surprised.

"AHHH!" Arizona screamed back, losing her balance in shock.

Callie reflexively caught Arizona before she could hit the floor, holding the blanket-clad woman to her. "Arizona?!"

"You're home," Arizona peeped, almost inaudibly. _Everything is fine._

"Yeah..." Callie began apologetically, "The surgery ran long. What are you doing?"

Arizona felt her breathing quicken even as she thought back to her worry. "You said you'd be home by 9:30!"

Callie knit her eyebrows together, confused. "Hey," she rubbed Arizona's shoulders through the thick blanket. "It's okay. I'm only ten minutes late."

Arizona shook her head. She felt a pinch behind her eyes. She had been so scared. "You said you'd be home by 9:30. I thought something happened..."

Callie really looked at Arizona, taking in her demeanor and finally understanding. "I'm sorry..." she apologized. "Nothing happened, okay?" Her voice was gentle. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"

Arizona released a shaky breath and nodded, closing her eyes. She could breathe again. Callie was okay. Callie was home.

"Come on," Callie put her arm around Arizona and guided her towards the bedroom. "Your leg must be sore from wearing the prosthesis all day, huh? I just need to put on pajamas and brush my teeth, and then we can go to bed, okay?"

Callie stopped when they reached the edge of the bed, and Arizona sat down. She looked at Callie, so much fear swimming in those cerulean eyes. "Okay."

"Okay." Callie took a deep breath and hurriedly changed into pajamas and walked into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. As she was doing so, Callie realized that Arizona's reaction to her being only ten minutes late was a definite PTSD symptom. Just as things had begun to get better, Callie realized just how much the plane crash had taken from her wife.

It took such a toll on her life. It changed everything.

Callie sauntered back out into the dark bedroom, catching Arizona's eye as the blonde peeked out from under the blankets. She still looked so scared. And small.

"Feel better?" Callie asked carefully.

"Yeah," Arizona breathed.

Callie climbed in on her side, pulling the blankets up to her neck to mirror Arizona's positioning. She put a hand on Arizona's shoulder, and the smaller woman turned to Callie.

"I'm sorry I scared you," Callie said sincerely. "I'll try to call next time. Okay?"

Arizona let out a sigh of relief. "Okay," she agreed meekly. She didn't know what else to say.

Callie cupped Arizona's cheek, gently tracing lines against the smooth skin with the pad of her thumb. She leaned towards Arizona, and they shared a sweet lingering kiss.

"Turn around," Callie whispered.

Arizona looked at her questioningly.

"Let me hold you. I'll keep you safe."

Arizona smiled at Callie thankfully before happily obliging, turning on her other side to face away from Callie. Callie edged closer, settling her head on Arizona's pillow so that she could smell delicious wispy blonde hair, and wrapping her arm around her wife's middle. Arizona noticeably relaxed as her muscles loosened and her shoulders dropped. Callie kissed the fabric on her shoulder. "You're okay. I'm here now. You can go to sleep."

Arizona closed her eyes and allowed sleep to come over her._ Callie is okay. I'm okay. Everything is fine_.


	45. Chapter 45

**Callie and Arizona- 9x05.**

* * *

_"My first surgery's at ten. I'll just drop her off at daycare with Sofia."_

After Meredith said goodbye, Callie shut the door to the apartment and put the toddler down. "You wanna go play with Sofia for a little while, Zola?" She put her hand out to Zola and led her towards the living room rug, where Sofia was sitting surrounded by baby dolls. "Yeah! You guys can play dolls together!"

She waltzed back into the kitchen, and as she stirred the pasta, she heard Arizona's painfully slow but steady walk coming her way from the bedroom. As Arizona walked towards the kitchen, looked to the living room and saw that there was not one but two little girls.

She turned and looked at Callie quizzically. "Zola?" she demanded simply.

Callie pursed her lips. "Grey wanted to check on her patient and asked if we could watch Zola tonight," she explained.

"Oh," Arizona nodded, sitting at one of the bar stools.

Callie smiled at her awkwardly. They were still walking on eggshells. Callie didn't even know how to act around her own wife. Arizona was so cranky, so resentful still. Callie didn't know how to fix it.

She cleared her throat. "I figured it's the least we could do. Her patient was trapped under a car, and I think she reminded her a lot of Lexie." Callie looked up at Arizona, but the blonde didn't meet her eyes. _Could Arizona even hear her_?

Callie sighed. "It must be hard. I mean, Mark was family, but Lexie was Meredith's _sister_." She shook her head in disbelief. It was just unbelievable. Callie still couldn't believe they'd experienced a plane crash. It didn't even feel like real life. She sighed. "I miss Mark."

Arizona stiffened at the mention of Mark's name, but she still didn't respond otherwise.

Callie wanted to cry. It was all too hard. She wanted her _wife_ back. She wanted her _life_ back.

She missed her best friend.

But this was her new reality. So, she finished making dinner, dished out food for them all, and tried to ignore the deafening silence emanating from her bitter wife. After they were finished, she offered, "I'm going to go put them to bed."

"So do it," Arizona quipped.

Callie sighed and bit her tongue. Now was not the time to get into it with Arizona. She scooped the girls into her arms and bounced towards Sofia's room, making them laugh. She helped them brush their teeth, put on pajamas, and read them a quick story to help them fall asleep.

Walking back towards the kitchen, Callie noticed that Arizona was sitting on the couch as opposed to lying back in bed, hiding from the rest of the world. She looked up at Callie. "I was going to watch something."

Callie nodded stiffly, unable to decipher the meaning behind Arizona's words. _Should she stay? Should she go_? Finally, Callie offered, "I'm going to go to Mark's. I'll bring the baby monitor, or you can just call if you need anything." She hurriedly walked towards the door, wanting to avoid any more awkwardness or pain.

Arizona sucked in a deep breath, and it was enough to make Callie stop in her tracks. She was hopeful. She shouldn't be, but she was.

Arizona extended an olive branch, albeit her voice was curt. "You can stay. If you want."

With trepidation, Callie walked towards the couch. They had watched TV together twice before. It had become a sort of buffer. But, still, they always sat with three feet of rock-hard resentment between them. Arizona was so closed off.

Still, it was better than nothing, and Callie would take anything she could get. She sat as far as she could from Arizona, scared that the blonde might change her mind if she felt the wife she resented beside her.

"What are we watching?" Callie asked, her voice small.

Arizona looked straight ahead at the TV. "I recorded a few episodes of American Bake Off."

Callie nodded. "Sounds good," she said hopefully.

Arizona rolled her eyes. She couldn't stand Callie's hopeful voice. It made her sick. But, she was trying. She clicked on an episode and watched as it began playing. As she learned about the contestants' journey to baking a perfect pie, she relaxed slightly, almost finding comfort in Callie's presence.

It was nice, not being alone. She was alone all day, and it got tiresome. She was so used to leading the busy life of a surgeon, but now she couldn't. _Callie_ had taken that away from her.

Arizona ground her teeth as her anger threatened to overpower her. She didn't want to lash out. But she was so mad. _What kind of loving human could cut off her own her own wife's leg? Callie must despise her. How else do you do that to a person_?

Callie felt Arizona tense beside her and took a second to look at her wife's face. Her jaw was set and her eyebrows were knit together in anger. She wasn't even looking at the screen, but past it, through it. Towards something Callie couldn't see.

Callie shut her eyes, trying to ward off tears. She couldn't handle it anymore. She couldn't handle being hated by Arizona. Not tonight. Though she craved spending time with her wife again, Callie didn't want it to be like this. This woman beside her was _not_ her wife. She was a shell: an angry, empty shell.

Callie sighed decisively and stood up. Arizona finally looked up at her, her eyes still filled with anger— but also hurt.

Callie tried to focus on her words, ignoring the blue eyes searing holes into her skin: "I'm, um, gonna go. You're obviously not enjoying this, so..."

Arizona rolled her eyes. "So go. It's obvious that you don't want to be here _with me_ anyway."

Callie crossed her arms. "Hey! You're the one who invited me to sit down here and then just glared straight ahead the whole time," she accused.

"You're the one pretending you don't wish me dead," she spat.

Callie furrowed her brows. "_What_? What are you _talking_ about?"

Arizona just shook her head, leaning it back slightly to try to prevent her angry and hurt tears from falling.

"Tell me," Callie insisted coldly.

Arizona leveled a stare at Callie, her face hard and her lips pursed. She was trying so hard to keep it together, to be strong, to be angry, to be in control. But she was scared. She was scared that her thoughts were true. Because they were. Of course they were. Why wouldn't they be?

Arizona crossed her arms, mirroring Callie's closed-off position.

"Tell me," Callie repeated, gritting her teeth.

Arizona huffed. In a surprisingly small voice, she stammered, "Stop with the act and just admit it. You wish that Mark had lived instead of me."

Callie's eyes bulged at Arizona's absurd and erroneous statement. _Could Arizona really think that? That she'd choose her best friend over her wife? Over the love of her life_?

Callie was furious over how Arizona had been acting, and she still had trouble wrapping her head around what the plane crash had done to them. But right then, hearing Arizona's terrified voice, her paralyzing fear...that was what broke Callie's heart.

Before she could think better of it, Callie was back on the couch. This time, she moved right beside her wife's, their knees almost grazing.

Arizona refused to look at her. She wished she hadn't said it.

Callie made a move to touch Arizona, wanting to console her somehow, wanting to quell her irrational fears and make her see reason. But, the darker woman stopped herself. Just before Callie's fingers could brush against Arizona's sweater, feel her warmth radiating from underneath, Callie remembered. She remembered that she couldn't. She couldn't touch Arizona. The last time she'd tried, Arizona had recoiled so quickly it could have given her whiplash. Callie couldn't touch her again. The hurt and rejection she'd feel...it wasn't worth it. She wouldn't survive.

So, instead, Callie used only her words. "Arizona," she sighed.

Arizona didn't budge, looking anywhere but at Callie.

"Look at me!" Callie insisted, her voice hard.

After a second, Arizona carefully brought her eyes up to meet Callie's.

More than resentment, they were filled with fear.

Callie let out a shaky breath. "I would _never_ want Mark to live instead of you. Do you hear me?"

Arizona's expression didn't change. She was clearly dubious, thinking that Callie was just telling her what she wanted to hear.

"Arizona..." Callie all but begged, wondering how her wife could be so dense. "You are the woman I love. You're my wife! You and Sofia are my family."

"You said Mark was your family," Arizona snarled.

Callie wiped away the tear that was falling down her cheek. "He was," she agreed. "He was my best friend and Sofia's dad. But you're my _wife_. You're the person I need. And if I got to choose who lives and who dies, I would always choose you."

At the sound of those words that she needed to hear, Arizona let out the sob she had been holding in. She tried to turn away from Callie and silence the hum in her throat; she didn't want to be vulnerable. She didn't want Callie to see how scared she was. Because she was still so mad.

Callie couldn't stand seeing Arizona in pain. She couldn't stand it. There was something about Arizona...

Callie couldn't control herself in the blonde's presence. She couldn't keep from touching her. Ever.

She just wanted to protect her.

But she couldn't. Not now. If Callie put a soothing hand on Arizona, she was scared that the entire world might end. She couldn't even comfort her own wife, and that killed her.

Regretfully, she eased onto her feet. "Can I help you get to bed?" she demurred.

Arizona closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to recompose herself. "No. I've got it. You can go."

Callie looked down at Arizona. She looked so beaten. So worn down. She was unrecognizable.

"Okay," Callie nodded once and turned to plod reluctantly towards the door.

As she turned the knob, she looked back at Arizona. "I choose you," she breathed.

Arizona didn't hear her.

* * *

**I'm so sorry for the angsty chapter, guys! Happy stuff to come soon, I think. Both on the show and here! I'm hopeful :)**


	46. Chapter 46

**Slight AU based on 11x20. Let me know what you think!**

**"I wanted you to have somebody."**

* * *

"Hey, what do we got?" Arizona asked as she gloved up and walked towards the patient.

"What are you doing down here?" Callie asked from the ER patient's bedside, where she was inspecting the foot-wide bruise along the man's chest and feeling the rigidity of his abdomen, discovering that he surely had internal bleeding.

"Bailey's in surgery, and Hunt said you'd need a general surgeon."

"The car was on the wrong side of the road, just careening towards us without stopping!" the man yelled, continuing his explanation as if Arizona hadn't interrupted. He was clearly in shock and full of adrenaline or he wouldn't be talking; he must have been in agonizing pain.

"Okay, sir, I'm going to need you to calm down," Callie insisted professionally as she inspected his broken leg and possible hip. "We need to get you into surgery right now, but don't worry. We're going to take good care of you."

"NO!" the patient shouted abruptly. "Please! I can't go. I need to see Karen! I need to know she's okay!"

"Who's Karen?" Arizona asked as she put up the guard rail to begin wheeling him to surgery.

"The woman who was in the car with him."

"Is she okay?!" the man asked desperately.

"She's in good hands," Callie declared. "We're going to take care of you now."

As they made their way towards the elevator, the patient explained, "We just met a few months ago! It was love at first sight. So I left my wife and she left her husband and we moved in together. She has to be okay!"

Callie widened her eyes. "You just left your spouses and started living together?"

The patient winced in pain. The extent of his injuries were catching up to him. "I know, I know. It sounds crazy. But I knew I needed her. She's just my somebody, you know? She's the only one I want. We understand each other and support each other like you wouldn't believe. I just wish..." he cried out in pain. "We'd met sooner." He paused. "Please, she has to be okay!"

Callie looked over at Arizona, who hadn't said anything. She was just looking at the patient in silence, her brows slightly furrowed.

So, Callie comforted the man. "Hey, we have a great team working on her. "You just breathe."

"Okay," the patient took a deep breath, trying to steady his breathing. "There was just so much glass...so much blood. She'll be okay, though, right? She has to be. She's my somebody."

Callie smiled at the man despite herself. It was people like this who gave her hope. He'd been married, but he still found his click again. There was hope for her, too.

As they got him into the prepped OR, Callie and Arizona scrubbed in silence. They hadn't spoken since Arizona's "Thank you" and discovery that Callie had been the one to take her leg, and that was fine. But, God, Callie would give anything to know what Arizona was thinking. "So," she began hesitantly, "Can you fix the ruptured spleen while I work on his hip and leg fracture?"

Arizona nodded, focusing on scrubbing her hands. "Let's do it." She gave Callie a shy smile.

"Let's do it," Callie agreed, and they shut off the sinks and got to work.

Throughout the surgery, Arizona had planned to work silently and meticulously. But knowing how much it helped Callie work to talk simultaneously, she spoke up about the one thing it was safe for them to talk about. "Have you watched Sofia play with her Barbies lately?"

Callie smiled at the mention of their daughter. "No, why?"

"She has so many girls that I finally broke down and got her a Ken doll the other day," she began. "So we were playing yesterday, and I asked her the names of all the dolls. And she told me about Barbie, and Joe, and grandpa, and then she said that one was me, one was you, her little Kelly doll was named Sofia, and," she paused, smiling wistfully. "She said the Ken doll was Daddy."

Callie was stunned into silence.

Arizona looked up at her. "She named her Ken doll after Mark."

"I wish I could've been there," Callie sighed, refocusing on her work.

"Well, Barbie you was there," Arizona grinned. "I figured it was a good chance to talk about him, though, so we did for a little while." She exhaled audibly. "I want her to remember him."

Callie caught Arizona's eye, and they shared a brief moment of tenderness and nostalgia over their old life.

Callie let out a shaky sigh. "Me, too. We'll make sure she does."

They returned to their work on the patient. Soon, his injuries were taken care of and he stabilized.

"Nice work," Callie complimented Arizona back in the scrub room.

"You, too," Arizona smiled.

"I'm gonna go check with April about his girlfriend. I want to make sure his 'somebody's' okay." She grinned and walked out the door.

Arizona took a deep breath before walking towards the elevator. The man would wake up from the anesthesia soon, and Arizona needed to tell him how the surgery went. She moseyed towards his room, and by the time she got there, Callie was already standing outside.

Callie had tears in her eyes. "Should I give the good news or bad news first?"

Arizona's eyes widened in shock. "No..." she whispered in disbelief. "She..."

Callie shook her head. No other words needed to be said. Arizona couldn't believe it. This man was _so_ in love with her. She was his somebody. And, now, she was just gone. "Good news first," Arizona opined.

Callie nodded. "Okay. He's waking up. Let's go."

Regretfully, Callie and Arizona staggered into the patient's room.

"Hey," Callie greeted softly. "How was your nap?"

"OW," the patient winced. "How's Karen?! Did you tell her not to worry about me? I know she gets anxious. She always t—" The look on Callie and Arizona's faces stopped him midsentence. "What?" he asked fearfully.

Callie quickly shifted into delivering-bad-news mode. "Mr. Johnson, I'm sorry to tell you that despite—"

The patient broke down, yelling "NO!" as he sensed what was coming.

Callie persevered, raising her voice slightly, "the surgeons' best efforts, Karen's internal bleeding was just too severe, and she didn't make it out of surgery. I'm so sorry for your loss," she choked out.

She felt tears sting her eyes. So much for that second click. "Your surgery went gr—" she began.

"She was my somebody!" the patient wailed.

Callie looked towards Arizona helplessly, not knowing what to do. There were tears running down Arizona's face as she quickly backed towards the door. She rushed out into the hallway without so much as a look in Callie's direction.

Callie muttered another quick apology before rushing after Arizona. _Why was she crying_? It was rare for her to cry over a patient, especially an adult.

Callie raced down the hall, trying to find her ex-wife. She couldn't stand seeing Arizona in pain. She couldn't. Stand it. And she knew that it wasn't her place, but she had been with Arizona for five years. She couldn't help that she still loved the woman, even if things were different now.

And she could help in this scenario. She could be there for Arizona. She couldn't be there when it came to the plane crash, because Arizona had told her so many times before that she didn't want her to be. And it would just drudge up old pain and resentment.

But now, she could. She felt like she had to. She had to be there for Arizona.

She couldn't stand to see her cry.

Knowing that Arizona was a private person who didn't like people to see her cry, Callie threw open the door to an on-call room.

And there Arizona was, her face red and soaked in tears, pacing back and forth in the small room.

"Arizona...?" Callie asked hesitantly, closing the door behind her.

Arizona's head shot up as she noticed that she had company. Seeing that it was Callie, a new wave of tears fell from her eyes. She tried to focus on staying upright. She felt like she might fall over. She couldn't even see straight through her tears.

"Hey..." Callie soothed, moving closer to the blonde. "It's okay. What's wrong?"

Arizona shook her head. She wouldn't get into this. She couldn't. She didn't want to start anything.

Callie put a gentle hand on Arizona's arm. They were standing right in front of each other.

Arizona couldn't do this. She moved away and resumed her pacing.

Callie didn't know what to say. "I know it's sad, but he's alive. He'll be okay."

Arizona shook her head. She couldn't say anything. She'd surely say something she'd regret. "I'll," she choked out, "be fine, Callie."

The worry was clear in Callie's eyes. She knew she should leave. She knew she was surely crossing boundaries. She should just leave Arizona alone. But she couldn't. She couldn't make her legs walk her back out that door. "Please tell me what you're thinking."

Arizona shook her head, and Callie sighed. Arizona was always so bottled up. She wished that her ex-wife would just open up to her, tell her what she was thinking. Callie had always wanted more of that.

After several minutes, when Callie still made no effort to move, Arizona stopped pacing and looked at her from a few feet away. Almost inaudibly, she recalled, "You said you wanted me to have somebody."

Callie looked at her quizzically.

"After the crash," Arizona clarified.

Remembering their recent conversation, Callie nodded slowly. _So what_?

Arizona resumed pacing. _She shouldn't do this. She shouldn't say it. She shouldn't get into it with Callie. Callie had left her. She should let the woman she loved be happy_.

Callie followed Arizona with her eyes as she resumed her sudden pacing. "I know I shouldn't have kept information from you, but Arizona..." she breathed, "You wouldn't have had any other allies. You froze me out, Mark was gone, Teddy was gone, Nick was..." she paused, unable to finish her sentence. "I knew you were going to hate me for making the call, so I wanted you to at least have Alex. Because he loves you, and you love him. You needed at least one ally."

Arizona was pacing faster and faster. She was going to explode. She couldn't. She couldn't explode at Callie. No. NO.

"I just," Callie shrugged hopelessly, her voice rising in desperation. "I wanted you to have somebody!"

At hearing those words, Arizona could no longer hold back. She couldn't stop herself. She had no control over her words when she felt like this. "_YOU WERE WHO I WANTED, CALLIE_!" Arizona exploded.

Callie noticeably jumped backwards in surprise.

Arizona huffed, trying to slow her breathing and calm down. "You were who I wanted," she repeated more calmly this time. "_You_ should have been my somebody. You _could_ have been my somebody."

Callie knit her eyebrows together. _What was Arizona saying_?

Arizona shook her head, attempting to grab a hold of her roller coaster emotions. "I couldn't imagine you loved me. All I could see is the bone saw in your hand, ready to take me apart."

Callie inhaled sharply. _Wait, what_?

"But you didn't," Arizona continued. "You didn't incapacitate me. You saved my life."

Callie's eyes widened. _Was there really a difference? Between making the call and making the cut_? "I made the call..." she reiterated. "I promised you that you wouldn't have to live without a leg. Because you didn't want to live without it. I promised you, and then I broke my promise."

Arizona shook her head. "I thought..." she didn't know what she thought. Ever since Callie had told her, she felt everything collapsing. Everything she'd said, everything she'd done, the cheating...it all no longer made sense. She had thought that Callie didn't loved her. She had been so perturbed and disturbed by the idea of Callie hacking off her leg.

It had haunted her until she had slept with Dr. Boswell.

It had haunted her for longer.

"You love me," Arizona said the words with equal amounts of resentment and uncontrollable wonder. Callie had sacrificed everything for Arizona.

Callie pursed her lips. She could lie. That would be best for both of them. But, she was so tired of lying. So tired of hiding. That's what had gotten them here.

"Of course I love you, Arizona," she admitted, her words hard, as if Arizona should have known. "I always will. It just wasn't enough anymore."

But Arizona hadn't known. She hadn't known that the depth of love Callie felt for her was so great that she had taken the blame for something she hadn't even done for _years_.

Everything Arizona had done to get back at Callie was no longer justifiable. Callie wasn't the monster. Arizona was.

When Arizona didn't respond, Callie shrugged helplessly. "Knowing..." she sighed. "It doesn't change anything."

Arizona widened her eyes at Callie. "No. It changes _everything_."

* * *

**Okay, guys. I know this missing moment is a bit more AU than usual, but I just couldn't get the dialogue out of my mind. Let me know what you think! Reviews make my day :)**


	47. Chapter 47

**Maggie and Callie. 11x20.**

* * *

"Hey," Maggie greeted Callie as she walked towards her.

"Hey," Callie smiled.

"Have you talked to Meredith? Derek's not answering his phone..."

"Yeah," Callie acknowledged, "She's freaking out. I told her it was just the plane crash that was making her panic."

"Yeah..." Maggie began timidly. "I just heard about that. I'm so sorry. I didn't know what happened."

Callie forced a weak smile.

"Should we go hang out with Mer? I feel like I should help comfort her somehow. I don't know what to say to make her feel better."

Callie laughed bitterly. "I better not go with you. The only experience I have with someone not answering their phone is with Arizona a few years ago. And she didn't answer because of the plane crash that killed Lexie and Sofia's father, who was also Derek's best friend."

Maggie's eyes widened. She kept learning more and more. These doctors— her friends— had been through so much, and she hadn't even known.

"So, yeah," Callie quipped. "I'm probably not the person to comfort Meredith today. I'll just freak her out more."

Maggie nodded, understanding the irrevocable toll that plane crash had taken on her friends. "Okay. Maybe I'll try talking to her."

Callie nodded swiftly as she grabbed a chart. "Good luck."


	48. Chapter 48

**I got this prompt on tumblr: **

_**An angsty one where Dan comes back and hurts Callie for not giving him another chance and Arizona sees it and gets her back? (What people have been speculating since the new synopsis came out)**_

**I'm HOPEFUL that this idea is totally off base and that Dan isn't even coming back. I'm doubtful he will, actually, but since you asked, I'll write up a lil something. :~)**

**Slight AU based on what we know about 11x22 so far.**

* * *

"Hey! Callie!" Dan called over to the tall woman as he lumbered into the ER.

"Dan?" Callie looked up from her chart questioningly. "What are you doing here?" she was shocked to see him.

"You never called me back," he explained.

Callie widened her eyes. _He's not only boring; he's also a stalker_.

"Yeah..." Callie paused, looking around her. She had no patients in the ER, no excuse to get away. She decided to go check on her recovering patients upstairs as an excuse. "I'm sorry, I'm just not interested," she finally explained, shrugging. "And I actually have patients I need to see..." she began walking away.

Dan nodded his head once, which Callie took for stoic understanding. She began to walk away, but it wasn't long before she heard heavy footsteps behind her. She turned her head and jumped. The large man was directly behind her.

"Wow," she breathed, turning to him. "You shouldn't be here. Please, go."

He kept walking, and soon, Callie was nearly cornered against a wall. She quickly looked around her. It was still early, and there were no nurses in sight.

As Dan stepped closer to her, so close that she couldn't escape, Callie put her hands up in surrender. She was scared. This man was _big_, and he was very much invading her personal space.

"Go out with me again," he insisted.

Arizona walked towards the small Ortho Ward. She needed an ortho consult; one of her patients had a pretty severe tibial shaft fracture and would need surgery to fix it. As she rounded the corner, she stopped sort. There was Callie—her ex-wife— pinned to the wall not fifteen feet in front of her.

Arizona paused. _Is Callie having a moment? Is she seeing him_? She analyzed their positioning. There was a sense of anxiety in Callie's eyes that let Arizona know that something wasn't right.

"_HEY_!" Arizona barked as she continued walking and made herself seen. Callie's eyes widened at seeing her ex-wife.

The man turned his head towards her but didn't move otherwise.

"Do I need to call security?" Arizona threatened.

"What? No," Dan began. "We were just talking.'

"Get your hands the _hell_ away from her," Arizona seethed insistently. She walked towards him, ready to physically move him herself if she had to.

But, slowly, Dan realized that he'd cornered Callie, and he altered positions and backed away from her.

Callie was still speechless; she felt paralyzed. She wasn't sure...She had thought...She thought that Dan was going to hurt her before Arizona came in.

She attempted to clear her throat. "You better go," she muttered quietly, but with strength.

Arizona crossed her arms, moving her body to stand almost protectively in front of Callie.

Dan just nodded slowly, and he backed towards the door. He didn't know what had gotten into him.

Arizona glared at him until he was out of sight, and Callie focused on steadying her breathing.

Finally, when he was gone, Arizona turned towards Callie. "What _happened_? Are you okay? I'm going to call security and then them what happened, okay?"

Callie nodded with tears in her eyes. "I'm— I'm good," she managed.

Arizona brought her hand up to cup Callie's face.

Callie's breath hitched at the gentle touch. "I'm good," she breathed.

"Alright," Arizona reassured softly.

* * *

**Props to you if you recognized what episode inspired the ending! Anyway, I'm hopin' and prayin' that the storyline changed and Dan's gone for good.**

**Let me know what you think! Reviews are always appreciated.**


	49. Chapter 49

**Inspired by 10x09. Someone on Tumblr asked me to address AZ's miscarriage.**

* * *

_"I can't take another loss, Callie! I can't handle it. I can't__—__ I can't think about this right now. It's too hard. IT'S JUST TOO HARD!"_

_"Wh__—__ what are you saying? Now you don't want another baby? ANSWER ME!"_

_"I don't know."_

_"I have to go check on my patient."_

After Callie talked to Travis, she hurriedly got dressed and headed home. Even as she shoved her keys through the door, she was wiping away the tears in her eyes.

It had been a tough day. Arizona had a miscarriage, she seemed not to want to try again, and Callie had failed her patient. It was all too hard. Callie was scared with what she'd be met with once she walked through the door.

Arizona was sitting on the couch with only the soft light of the small lamp illuminating her skin. She looked up as Callie stumbled through the door. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," Callie tried to smile back. She shrugged off her leather jacket as she headed towards the couch to sit beside Arizona. "How are you?" she asked gently.

Arizona shrugged.

Callie released a shaky breath. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there with you today. You shouldn't have been alone for the procedure." She reached out, placing a warm hand over Arizona's back.

Arizona's lip quivered. "It's...fine," she whimpered. She closed her eyes and tried to grab a hold of her emotions. She put her hand on Callie's thigh. "How are you?"

Callie haphazardly swallowed her sob as she nodded, trying so hard to let Arizona she was okay, even if she wasn't.

"Callie..." Arizona breathed, pulling the bigger woman closer and wrapping her arms around her back.

Callie sobbed uncontrollably against Arizona's chest, and Arizona felt her tears fall down her face and into Callie's raven hair. "Did something happen with your patient?" she questioned.

Callie just nodded against Arizona's skin.

"I'm sorry," Arizona whispered. And she was. Not only for her wife's patient but also for feeling like she couldn't try again. She wanted a baby. She did. But, what if she lost it again? She couldn't take another loss.

Eventually, Callie pulled away. "Are we going to talk about what you said earlier?"

Arizona stiffened. She couldn't talk about it. Not today. She didn't want to let Callie down.

But it was too hard. All of it. One more loss...she wouldn't survive.

Arizona sighed and shrugged helplessly. "I _want_ another baby, I do. But I don't know if I want to try again. Callie, it was awful today."

Callie tucked a blonde lock behind Arizona's ear. She felt awful. First, she'd failed her wife when she forgot about their appointment with the obstetrician. Then, she'd failed her patient when she had to make the call to amputate his legs.

Just like she had failed Arizona when she had made the call to amputate her leg.

And that was the reason they were in this position, with Arizona feeling like she was unable to handle another loss.

It always came back to the leg.

Callie sighed heavily. "We don't have to talk about it tonight, okay?" She rubbed Arizona's shoulder soothingly.

Arizona let out a sigh of relief. "Okay," she whispered unsteadily, her voice trembling.

"So, what do you want to do?" Callie asked warily. "What do you need?" She'd never experienced a miscarriage herself, but she'd seen the toll it had taken on mothers. It was taking a toll on her, and the baby hadn't even been in her body.

Arizona just shrugged. Words defeated her. She didn't know how to vocalize how empty she felt. "I don't know."

Callie pulled her into her arms.

* * *

**Sorry if this one's kinda dull. I figured I'd post it anyway.**

**As always, reviews are much appreciated! Constructive criticism is better than no feedback at all, and compliments are best! Thank you for reading. :)**


	50. Chapter 50

**Set mid-to-late season 10. An evening at home.**

* * *

"Hey, Sof," Arizona offered as they walked through the door to their house, "Why don't you go read a book while Mommy and I make dinner?"

"Otay," Sofia happily ran towards her room.

Arizona let out a long sigh, just happy to be home after such a long day.

"You too, huh?" Callie asked. Her workday had felt like an entire lifetime. Case after case, patient after patient, all day long.

"Yeah," Arizona murmured, too exhausted to even explain further.

Callie yawned. "Come on," she began walking towards the kitchen. "It feels like a pasta night."

"_Yes_," Arizona agreed, following. They needed some easy comfort food.

Callie and Arizona stood quietly in the kitchen, silently boiling water and preparing a salad, their minds thinking about their patients and surgeries...

Arizona inhaled deeply, breathing in the comforting smell of home, and Callie attempted to also slow her breathing and relax. The day was done. They were home. It was time to take a breath.

Standing beside each other at the counter, they leaned into each other for support, savoring the simple pleasure of the other person's warmth next to them.

Callie moved to stir the spaghetti into boiling water and then turned back and wrapped her arms around Arizona from behind, resting her chin on the smaller woman's shoulder.

Arizona hummed contently into the contact and leaned back against Callie.

After a minute, Callie softly pecked her cheek and then went to go check on the pasta.

Arizona finished making the salad and headed towards the cupboard to get plates. She passed Callie on her way and tenderly stroked her finger down her wife's spine, earning herself a soft smile.

As Arizona worked on setting the table, Callie carded her fingers through blonde hair.

Slowly, both women felt themselves relax and function properly again. Arizona turned around to face Callie and cupped her cheek, pulling the taller woman's face to hers to share a lingering kiss.

They both smiled genuinely into the contact, finally relaxing after their long days.

"I'm gonna go get Sofia," Arizona proclaimed softly.

"'Kay," Callie gave Arizona one last quick peck. A second later: "Hey, what do you say for a movie night after dinner?"

Arizona turned and grinned from where she had been walking towards Sofia's room. "Sounds _perfect_," she grinned, then turned again to go grab their daughter and eat dinner at last.

* * *

**As always, reviews are super appreciated! :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	51. Chapter 51

**Callie choosing Arizona. Someone asked me to address the whole "You're nothing!" fight circa 7x18. I did my best.**

**(Set after 8x06 ish?)**

* * *

"I can't believe the social worker just took Grey and Shepherd's baby," the intern shook her head.

Her friends nodded in agreement.

One offered, "First there was that fight between Sloan and Robbins, now this."

Callie, who had been mindlessly charting, looked up at the mention of her wife's and best friend's names.

"Oh yeah!" another intern recalled. "I guess the only way to be safe is to have a biological baby. That fight was intense."

"Hey!" Callie called over to the group of gossipers.

Quickly, they stiffened, embarrassed.

"Come here," she insisted.

They scuffled over.

"What's this talk about Robbins and Sloan?" she put her hand on her hip.

"N— n— nothing," one of the guys stuttered.

Callie leveled a glare at him.

He took a nervous breath. "After your car accident, your wife and Dr. Sloan got really into it. They had different ideas about your care, and Sloan called her 'nothing.' He said you were the mother, he was the father, and Robbins was 'nothing.'" He paused awkwardly, ready to be in trouble.

But Callie didn't say anything. Her eyes widened, and she looked angrily into some point off in the distance. "I gotta go," she breathed, stomping away. She turned back to face the interns. "And, hey, stop gossiping in the hallways! Scut for all of you."

She rushed off. She needed to find Mark. Now.

She stalked down the hall towards him, her eyes on fire.

Mark looked up and noticed Callie's demeanor as she drove closer and closer. He smirked, "Hey, Cal, who pissed you off toda—"

Before he could even finish, Callie was grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the nearest on-call room. She wanted to scream without making a scene.

"Ow! Callie, what are you—" Mark trailed behind his best friend, confused and feeling sharp nails dig into his forearm.

"Shut. Up," Callie insisted. She swung the on-call room door open, pulling them inside, then slammed it shut.

Mark snatched his arm back. "What is wrong with you?!"

"You called her 'NOTHING'?!" Callie accused in disbelief.

"What?!" Mark had no idea who Callie was talking about. "Who?"

Callie glared at him but tried to calm down a little. "Arizona. You called her nothing?"

Mark's face settled into a look of guilt as he remembered. "She told you?" he cringed.

"No," Callie spat. "I had to hear about it from an intern. Mark, how could you?!"

"I took it back!" Mark insisted. He took a breath. "We were arguing, and we were scared. You were in a coma, and we had different ideas about what to do. I apologized after! We're good now. We're friends."

Callie huffed. "I know you're good, and trust me, I know you're friends. All you freakin' do is cook together. But Mark..." she moved her hands up to her face. "You know how hard this has been for her."

"I know." Mark hung his head. Then, he looked up decisively. "Do you want me to talk to her?!"

Callie exhaled noisily. "No, I'll do it. I believe you. She would have told me if it were still an issue. But, Mark..."

Mark knit his eyebrows together, prepared for another emotional slap.

"She's my _wife_. She's just as much of a parent to Sofia as we are. And if you ever say anything like that to her again..."

"I won't," Mark promised. "Seriously."

Callie nodded once. "I've gotta go find her."

Callie swiftly walked out the door. She felt better, but there was still pain in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't even imagine how Arizona must have felt when Mark said that. Even if he did take it back, Arizona surely still remembered.

She marched towards the Peds Ward, desperate to find her wife. She saw Alex down the hall. "KAREV!"

The resident turned.

"Where's Arizona?"

"In surgery. She just started."

"Is it a long one?"

Alex shrugged. "Eight hours."

Callie threw her head back and groaned. "When you see her, tell her to hurry home tonight. Please?"

"Whatever. Sure."

Callie got paged to the ER and raced downstairs. She would talk to Arizona that night. She would make sure her wife knew just how important she really was. Both to her and to Sofia.

* * *

Arizona was excited to almost be home. She had weathered a long day, she was starving, and she was desperate to see her beautiful baby girl. She climbed the stairs two at a time and finally opened the door to the apartment and let herself in.

Callie smiled at her from the couch. "Hey."

"Hey!" Arizona smiled. She looked over at where Callie was sitting on the couch. She was cradling Sofia in her arms. "What's Sof still doing up?" Arizona asked accusatorily but smiling.

Callie grinned guiltily, and Arizona moved to sit down beside them.

"I wanted to keep her up until you got home," Callie offered. "I know you like to put her down." She shyly glanced up at Arizona, and Arizona leaned forward and kissed her tenderly.

Arizona hummed approvingly into the kiss. "_Thank you_," she whispered gratefully. She put her arms out expectantly. "Now give me my baby!" She nuzzled the little baby. "Sof, you must be so sleepy! Come on," she started walking towards the nursery.

Callie walked towards the kitchen. "Hey, did you eat anything?"

"Not yet!" Arizona called from the other side of the apartment.

Callie got busy microwaving leftovers and making Arizona a plate of food. She didn't know how to initiate talking about what she had learned that day. She didn't want to say the wrong thing. She wanted to make sure Arizona knew just how much she mattered. Not only to Sofia, but also to her.

Callie poured two glasses of wine and set everything on the coffee table in the living room. She sat on the couch, waiting.

Arizona finally tiptoed in. "She is _asleep_," she whispered. "Out like a light." Still starving, she sat beside Callie and wasted no time before beginning to eat.

Callie sat quietly beside her, sipping her wine absent-mindedly and trying to decide what to say.

Arizona looked up at her questioningly. "Callie..." she furrowed her brows. "What are you thinking?"

Callie sighed. She put down her wine glass. She looked back at Arizona. "I heard something today."

Arizona wanted to laugh at her wife's flustered demeanor. "What did you hear?" She set down her plate, already full.

"About your fight with Mark. After the car accident," Callie looked into Arizona's eyes, eager to gauge her reaction.

Arizona knit her eyebrows together. She couldn't remember. They had fought a lot during those few days.

"About him calling you 'nothing.'"

Arizona's face fell as she frowned at the memory. _Oh, yeah. _That_ fight_.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Callie reached over and clasped one of Arizona's hands.

Arizona shrugged. "Mark apologized before you even woke up. We made peace."

Callie prodded Arizona's face, hoping to somehow decipher her feelings. _Was she really over it? _Her face was blank, and Callie couldn't tell. "You know that you're not nothing, right?"

Arizona smiled softly. "Of course I do. I'm Sofia's mom, and we're getting that paper that proves it."

Callie nodded and squeezed Arizona's hand. "We are. And even if you're over it, I wish you had told me," She said, her eyes widening pleadingly. "I almost killed Mark today. To even imagine him speaking to you that way..."

Callie couldn't even finish her sentence before Arizona's lips were on hers. Arizona threaded her fingers through black hair and wouldn't let go, kissing her with all the fierce love and gratefulness she could muster.

Finally, she pulled away for air, smiling at Callie's flushed cheeks and breathlessness. She leaned towards Callie again, but before they could make contact, Callie put a hand up.

"Hey," Callie warned. "Stop distracting me. I'm not done with this yet."

Arizona huffed. "Callie..." she pleaded. "I'm over it. Really."

"And I'm still going to tell you something," Callie insisted. She grabbed both of Arizona's hands and forced the blonde to look at her. "Listen. Are you listening?"

Arizona rolled her eyes.

Callie sensed there was still some lasting insecurity, even if Arizona wouldn't admit it, so she was insistent. She was going to make her wife listen. "Seriously."

"Yes, Callie. I'm listening."

"Okay," Callie paused. "You aren't nothing. You're my wife, you're the love of my life, and you are _just_ as much of a mom to Sofia as I am." Callie beamed at her, "You're her mama. That was her first word, and she said it to you! You're her mama. Mark knows it, I know it, and _Sofia_ knows it. And if everyone ever questions that again, you better tell me so that I can fight for you."

Arizona twinkled. There were tears in her eyes.

"You're not nothing. Do you hear me? You. Are not. Nothing. You are everything."

And she was. Arizona was everything to Callie, and so much more.

* * *

**Hope this wasn't too bad. I **_**SO**_** wish Callie could've found out about it on the show. I really wish Callie had very clearly shown Arizona that she chooses her over Mark before he died. Sigh. 8x06 hardly counted.**

**Let me know what you think! Reviews are always appreciated.**


	52. Chapter 52

**Set sometime between 10x15 and 10x22. Our girls talking about Carlos.**

* * *

Arizona walked into the kitchen just as Callie was hanging up the phone.

"I've gotta get ready for work, Daddy," Callie finished her conversation. "I love you, too. Bye." She smiled at Arizona. "Morning."

"Morning," Arizona smiled in return, pausing to give Callie a quick peck on the lips before putting her bread in the toaster. "How's your dad doing?"

"He's good. Where's Sof?"

"She's getting dressed. She refused any help." Arizona's mouth turned into a cringe as she thought about Callie's dad. "He must want to pin me to a wall and kill me, huh?"

Callie knit her eyebrows in confusion before she remembered. _Oh, yeah._ Arizona's first experience with her father had included him pinning both George and Mark to a wall for _cheating_. And now Arizona had cheated.

Callie still hadn't completely forgiven Arizona for betraying their vows, but her wife's terrified expression was so funny that she couldn't help but chuckle a little. "No, Arizona. He doesn't hate you," Callie assured her.

Arizona widened her eyes. Surely he had to. He was so fiercely protective of Callie. Arizona couldn't imagine how she could ever regain his approval. It had been so hard to get him to accept her and Callie's relationship in the first place. She had broken all the rules and approached him and gave him this noble speech.

But cheating was hardly noble. And when she had seen him during the trial, she had felt really, really guilty. Sick to her stomach with guilt. Because she had promised to protect Callie. Back before it had all fallen apart.

"Actually..." Callie hesitated, dragging Arizona out of her thoughts. Callie's voice suddenly small. "He was the one who convinced me to give you another shot."

Arizona was in disbelief. She was shocked. _Wait. What_? She wanted to know more but was afraid to ask. Honestly, she never wanted to think about the cheating again, and she didn't want Callie to have to ever think about it, either.

But when Arizona still didn't answer, Callie gently rubbed her arm to comfort her. Arizona thought it should be the other way around, considering the topic of discussion, but it was Callie who was supporting her.

"Arizona, seriously," Callie promised. "My dad doesn't hate you. If it happens again, both of us may be out to kill you, but not now. He told me to fight. So he really likes you." She offered a tender smile.

Arizona smiled thinly and gave an appreciative nod. She moved her hand to tuck a thick lock of hair back behind Callie's ear. She gingerly brushed her wife's cheek with the pad of her thumb, eternally grateful for her.

"_Thank you_."

* * *

**Sorry if this was bad! I don't even know what I was thinking while writing this, but I figured I may as well post it anyway. Don't blame me if my brain is dead! So many midterms!**


	53. Chapter 53

**Someone on Tumblr sent me this prompt:**

_**Calzona fic request where they slowly reconcile and end up bumping into each other at Joe's bar again (throwback to first time they meet) and have a heart to heart- in the crusty ass bathroom, yes- and end up falling in love all over again and kissing too! Nothing too over, just a sweet moment shared between the two to ensure their love for each other**_

**Slight AU. Post-11x20. I changed it a lil.**

* * *

It had been a hard day. A plane had crashed in downtown Seattle, and that had brought back painful memories for all of them. Arizona and Meredith had leaned on each other, Alex had been there for Arizona, and Callie had offered whatever comfort she could to Meredith.

Callie wished she could have been there for Arizona, too, but she knew that Arizona wouldn't have wanted that. Her wife had always made it _very_ clear that she didn't want to talk to Callie about the crash.

Arizona had always made it very clear that it wasn't Callie's experience, and those words from their fight on _that_ night still churned in Callie's head, even more than a year later.

Arizona was okay, though. Callie knew that Arizona was okay when she had approached her after the chaos had subsided. Callie had explained why she had covered for Alex about the leg, and Arizona had _thanked_ her. That was progress.

But still, the day had been exhausting, and it reminded Callie of the multitude of painful losses she'd experienced in the past year. So she decided to go to Joe's to get her mind off it all. She would just have a drink or two, maybe some friendly flirting. Sofia was sleeping over at a friend from daycare's house, so Callie had nowhere else to be.

She just needed to get her mind off all the losses.

* * *

Arizona could hardly function. Not only had she been having plane crash flashbacks all day, but she had also learned vital information about the amputation of her leg.

Alex had told her that Callie hadn't been the one to cut it off.

Arizona had been blaming Callie for the action of cutting off her leg for a year and a half, but it had been Alex. And Callie knew that, and she had never even corrected Arizona or even stood up for herself.

Callie let Arizona blame her just so that Arizona could have had somebody. Her ex-wife had sacrificed her own happiness and allowed Arizona to demonize her even more so than she would've otherwise just so that Arizona could have had someone to trust and talk to.

Callie had loved her fully and selflessly. She had sacrificed her own happiness for Arizona's well-being. Callie had loved her so much.

And a realization like that was overwhelming. It made Arizona think back to every awful thing she'd said to Callie since the crash. It made her think of everything she'd done wrong.

It made her feel guilty. Guilty and overwhelmed. Because Callie had loved her more than she had ever imagined.

And now that she knew, Arizona didn't know what to do. What _could _she do? It was too late for apologies. Callie was done. They were done.

Arizona wanted a drink.

* * *

Callie was absent-mindedly swirling her red wine around its glass when the bell chimed, indicating that someone had walked in. It was a weeknight, so there weren't many people drinking. Callie looked up at the sound and saw wavy blonde hair.

Wavy blonde hair that she knew well. Arizona.

Arizona slowly walked up to the bar. She was exhausted. The day had taken a toll on her. She ordered a tequila shot. Then another.

Usually, she didn't like to drink anything other than wine, but it had been such a hard day. And she was _lonely_. She didn't want to go to Alex's house; it wasn't really home. She didn't want to bother Nicole or April. She didn't have anyone. So, she would at least drink enough to forget.

Callie cautiously watched Arizona from her shaded booth. It was odd watching Arizona down shots. Arizona didn't like the hard stuff. She had always said the smell alone made her nauseous. Still, here Arizona was, sitting alone at a bar downing tequila like a drunk frat boy. Callie wished that she could talk to Arizona, ask her how she was doing, but she knew that she shouldn't. Couldn't. Arizona didn't want to talk to her about the plane crash, and she likely needed time to process what Alex and Callie had told her that day. So Callie stayed where she was, watching her ex-wife ask for another shot.

She watched as Arizona ran her fingers through her hair anxiously. She watched as she put her head in her hands.

Arizona couldn't take it all. She was overwhelmed by everything. She put her head in her hands as the tears began to fall. She didn't want anyone to see her. She hated crying.

Before her face got too red, Arizona grabbed her purse and hurried to the bathroom. She just needed to wash her face and wipe her eyes.

Callie watched helplessly as Arizona clumped towards the bar bathroom in tears. No. Callie couldn't stand seeing her in pain. She knew she wasn't supposed to care, but...old habits. The bathroom door slammed closed. Callie's knees bounced anxiously. More than anything, she wanted to follow Arizona inside. She wanted to comfort her.

But she knew she shouldn't. So, she tried to slow her anxious breathing and incessant fidgeting. She tried to think of something else.

But she could only think of drunk Arizona, crying and alone, and idea of that broke her heart. She quickly downed the rest of her wine. She stood up. She just needed to make sure Arizona was okay.

Arizona stood in front of the sink, trying to stop crying as she wiped at her wet eyes. How had everything gotten so screwed up?

Callie opened the door, and Arizona quickly scrambled to pull herself together. She looked in the mirror to see who had come in.

Callie.

"Hey," Callie breathed.

Arizona turned and sat on the edge of the counter. "Hey." She tried to let out an embarrassed chuckle, but it came out a sob.

Callie sighed helplessly and eased closer to Arizona. She wanted to hold Arizona so badly. She wished she could hug her. Keep her safe. She felt her fingers twitch with how badly she felt a compulsion to touch the blonde, so she balled her hands into fists at her sides. "Are you okay?" she asked genuinely. Of course Arizona wasn't, though. Callie knew that.

Arizona nodded. "Fine, yeah," she attempted to smile reassuringly. She didn't want Callie to worry about her.

"Okay," Callie mouthed, beginning to turn towards the door. She figured she should give Arizona some space. She didn't want to crowd her, especially after the plane crash that day.

As Callie turned, Arizona offered, "I just," she paused, and Callie turned back to face her. Arizona shrugged. "No one died today. We saved everyone."

Callie smiled genuinely. "We did," she confirmed simply.

Arizona smiled sadly. "I wish we could've saved Mark and Lexie. I wish they were alive."

Callie felt her eyes prick. Her life had felt incomplete since Mark's death. She wished so much that Sofia could have gotten to know her father better. "Me too," Callie whispered wistfully.

She and Arizona shaded a tender moment, just looking into each other's eyes from a few feet away. Wishing, hoping, and praying the other would say something, and mourning all they'd lost.

Callie let out a shaky breath. She couldn't help to think back to the last time they'd both been in this bathroom together, more than five years ago. She had been smitten since Arizona's brazen introduction, and now they were here again. Callie kept her eyes focused on Arizona's, refusing to look anywhere below. If she focused on those pink lips...

She wouldn't be able to control herself. Not here. Not tonight.

God, she wanted to kiss Arizona. But she couldn't, because Arizona was happier without her. Callie wanted her to feel free. Arizona deserved to feel happy and not stuck.

Finally, Callie gently murmured, "I'm glad you're alive."

Arizona's brows knit at the simple but honest declaration. She looked at Callie with wonder. This woman was the love of her life. Even though they were separated, Arizona knew for certain that she'd never meet another woman who could even compare. Arizona would never be able to love anyone the way she loved Callie, and she realized today that no one would ever love her as much as Callie did.

Arizona's breath trembled as she inhaled sharply. She wasn't aware of her words until she'd said them. "So am I," she smiled. And she was. She was glad to be alive. For a long time, she hadn't been.

But, now, she was.

She had been holding onto her anger for _so long_, hating Callie for both ignoring her wishes and making the call to cut off her leg and for performing the action itself. Except it had been Alex who'd done that, and Arizona surprised herself by not having any feelings of anger towards him. And that allowed her to subconsciously realize that she had no feelings of anger towards Callie anymore, either.

Callie's beaming smile was so beautiful that Arizona periodically stopped breathing. She just took in Callie's beautiful features, those big brown eyes, those lips...

Finally, she cleared her throat. "Anyway," she began, returning to reality. "Thank you."

Callie seemed to shake herself out of a daze. She nodded once and pursed her lips thankfully. No other words were needed. Callie turned and held the door open for Arizona. "You need a ride home?"

"I'm good," Arizona assured her. "I'm just going to head back to the hospital, actually."

"Okay," Callie replied gently, searching Arizona's face as she tried to gauge her true emotions.

They walked through the door side by side and paused as they stood in the cold outside.

They both wanted to say so much, but they felt like they couldn't. Not anymore.

"Well—" Arizona began just as Callie offered, "I should—"

Arizona smirked at their awkwardness. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Callie offered an shy smile. She wished she could reach out and touch Arizona. She wished they could go home together. She never felt more at home than when she was wrapped around Arizona's body. But, now, they were done. "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

**As always, reviews are much appreciated. Let me know what you think! They make me sososooso happy! Like, seriously. Just a few words haha.**

**Also, my sincerest condolences to all Derek fans. I loved him more than anything, and I'm absolutely heartbroken :( Sending out hugs to everyone who feels the same.**


	54. Chapter 54

**AU because we don't know what's coming, but this is set after 11x21. No Arizona, but Callie and Mer.**

* * *

"We need to get him up to surgery. He's bleeding out," Callie observed warily. She put up the safety bar on her side of the gurney and looked up when she noticed that Meredith wasn't doing the same opposite her.

"Grey?" Callie asked softly.

Meredith jumped slightly, and she looked up to meet Callie's concerned stare.

"Are you okay? I mean, can you do this? Should I go get Bailey?"

Meredith shook her head curtly. "I'm fine," she insisted. "Let's go."

They raced the patient up to the OR, scrubbing quickly and silently.

Callie didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to help Meredith. She couldn't imagine how the general surgeon must feel.

Sure, Callie had been married to George, and he had died. But that was different. George hadn't been the love of her life.

This was Meredith and Derek. Her aspirational couple. Merder. The couple who had managed to make all their pieces fit. And now Derek was dead.

She didn't know what to say. She couldn't even begin to imagine Meredith's pain.

Meredith and Callie finally walked into the OR side by side. They stood across from each other, overlooking the sedated patient.

"Are you ready?" Callie asked as gently as she could.

Meredith nodded. "Just..." she paused, collecting herself. "Give me a second."

Callie waited, silently monitoring the smaller woman with watchful brown eyes.

Meredith tried to slow her breathing. She slowly regained control. She could do this. She could do surgery, save a life, even in a world where Derek no longer existed.

She cleared her throat. She paused.

Callie looked at her, worried.

Finally, Meredith looked up. Through tear-filled eyes, she smiled at the assisting resident, at the nurses, and finally, at Callie.

"It's a beautiful day to save lives."

.

.

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* * *

**Okay, so I know that this is more of a Mer moment than Calzona moment, but I just had to write it! **

**To make up for that, here's something I wrote about Arizona the other day that I posted on Tumblr. Thought you guys might want to read it, too! **

**Let me know what you think! As always, reviews are much appreciated :)**

_**Alright, yo. I know things are intense right now, and everyone is suffering, but I'd like to change the subject for a second to talk about Arizona Robbins.**_

_**I ~finally~ rewatched 11x05 (it was too hard to rewatch for a long time), and I feel like I understand Arizona's psyche much better. **_

_**Before Callie, I think Arizona was wild. A focused, type-A personality— competitive in both her professional and personal life. She excelled in surgery, and she excelled with women. She was good at charming women (and she knew it), but she rarely wanted to keep them around. The women she "dated" were expendable fun, and she saw no future long-term with them (apart from Joanne and Carly perhaps).**_

_**Then she saw Callie.**_

_**And in my head, Arizona didn't just overhear "people talk" about how Callie and Erica were together and how Callie ran Erica off; she asked about Callie (maybe she even asked some of her clueless, doting one-night stands *coughs* Colleen). Arizona saw Callie and was incredibly intrigued by her. "Some people really like you." Arizona really liked Callie— much more so than the women she usually seduced, the women who collapsed at her feet (like Colleen, who loved her even years later, and then Boswell and Leah). I believe that, prior to the bar bathroom introduction, Arizona watched from afar as Callie interacted with friends in the cafeteria before she finally approached her. Arizona was used to women crumbling at her feet over how much they liked her, but she crumbled at Callie's.**_

_**Instantly, Callie was different from her past relationships (or, well, relations). Like in the elevator scene when she asked Callie out— she actually had to chase her. And then she fell, hard and fast. We saw that in early season 6 (the "are we girlfriends?" anxiety, the "I find her miraculous," the "I love you's").**_

_**Then the shooting happened, and Arizona revealed her insecurities about how Callie didn't love her enough. I'll come back to this. For now, let's keep going.**_

_**Then there was Africa, when Arizona got frustrated with Callie's passive-aggression and bailed, likely as she had many times before; it didn't work this time, though, because Callie was different. Arizona actually wanted to be with her; she couldn't just leave, because Callie was "supposed to go with" her, as she said in 11x05. She said that Africa was "the dream." She thought that it was her dream, yeah, but it turned out just to be Callie.**_

_**So much so that she forgave Callie for sleeping with Mark. Even though Mark had been an intimacy rival for the entirety of their relationship (don't even get me started), Arizona went all in. In 11x05, they describe it as "the point of no return," and it was, because it was that day that she agreed to a lifetime of Callie, Mark, and Sofia.**_

_**Here's where it gets more interesting. In 7x13, Arizona says: "We are together. Because I love you and you love me, and none of the rest of it matters! We. Are. Together. And if you ever sleep with anyone else again—man or woman—I will kick the crap out of you!"**_

_**In retrospect, I find it kind of significant that Arizona says "I will kick the crap out of you!" as opposed to "we're over!" or "I'm leaving!".**_

_**I think that, in Arizona's mind right then, she realized that Callie was it for her. Whether or not she realized it, she decided that she would stay with Callie forever, even if Callie slept with someone else again. Arizona was all in. She's been all in ever since.**_

_**And then, Callie walked out in 11x05.**_

_**So, now, Arizona's compartmentalizing. Like she does with everything. There's work, there's Sofia, she knows that there will be other women at some point, and she is/she will convince herself that everything is fine. Because she does that. That was what she did through all of season nine. She just hid her pain away and tried to be the person she recognized again. She tried to be the person Callie recognized.**_

_**So, again, she's compartmentalizing.**_

_**But it's hard, because for her, "home" isn't Seattle. It's Callie. In 9x02, she says, "Just take me home to Callie," and in 11x07, she says, "Someone told me to go home, and I wasn't really sure where I should go."**_

_**For Arizona, home is a person (well, people, including Sofia), not a place. Callie is her home.**_

_**And she's felt this way for a long time, which may be why she was so consistently afraid of Callie leaving. She begged her time and time again not to leave (8x22, 9x10, 10x15) because, apart from surgery, Callie is/was her world.**_

_**She bent, again and again, because she became so dependent on Callie and so fearful of a life without her. She gave up a lot (and a lot of career opportunities: i.e. Africa) for Callie, and it's only now that she finally decided not to by choosing the fellowship with Herman (which, might I mention, caused a lot of friction in their marriage).**_

_**Her fear prevented her from making her own needs a priority, and I think it's important to note that now she is at last (although without Callie by her side).**_

_**By the way, I in no way mean to villainize Callie for ~making~ Arizona make sacrifices. I love Callie. I adore her. Often, I find her much more likeable than Arizona. She's warm and, in many ways, innocent. But I understand that they've both made mistakes: Arizona has often caused the major, nearly irreversible traumas, and Callie has tortured Arizona slowly. So slowly. With a bunch of tiny paper cuts that are mostly harmless until they bleed all at once.**_

_**Arizona left, then she harbored a lot of anger towards Callie, then she cheated. These are things that many relationships wouldn't ever be able to get through. These are Big Mistakes.**_

_**But Callie often didn't respect Arizona. She was bull-headed, self-centered (in 9x01), and consistently a bad listener (11x05, 11x16). She brought up Arizona's mistakes just to silence her. This inability to listen, though not on the same level as screwing another person while married, can reallllyyy take a toll on relationships.**_

_**But, still, Callie loves her. And I do believe that they can be good together again if they just get their crap together and forgive.**_

_**Callie needs her confidence back, and she needs to stop dismissing Arizona.**_

_**And Arizona needs to realize the depth of love Callie feels for her. She's doubted this since the beginning, I know, (ahem, 6x24, 7x17). She's always thought that Callie hasn't loved her any differently/more than she had loved the people in her past relationships. Arizona knows that Callie loves easily, and she has never really felt that Callie loves her as much as she loves Callie.**_

_**But I'm hoping that their whole "I wanted you to have somebody" talk helps Arizona open her eyes and see that, in fact, Callie loved/loves her more than anyone else ever could.**_

_**I mean, Callie freakin' let Arizona blame her just so that Arizona could have had somebody. She sacrificed her own happiness and allowed Arizona to demonize her even more than she would've otherwise just so that Arizona could have had someone to trust and talk to. **_

_**That is love. Real, deep, true, sacrificial, selfless, unconditional love. And it's not the first example of it, but right now, it's the most significant.**_

_**Arizona often misses all the ways Callie's shown it because of her own insecurities, but I think that she now has the perspective to see just how much this woman loves her.**_

_**And Arizona obviously loves her equal amounts. I truly believe that she does. But I want Arizona to show it. To show Callie that she is enough and that Arizona wants her. That Arizona can live without her, but she doesn't ever want to. And she needs to regain Callie's trust.**_

_**After that, I think they have a chance to be happy together. Forever.**_

_**When asked about Calzona, Sara Ramirez once said:**_

_**"I think they complement each other, they are like yin and yang. I think Arizona has taught her a lot and, in turn, I think Callie has given Arizona a really sweet and loving place to rest her heart… They've worked through and survived so much together and I just think that there's a deep connection there, a bond between them, that developed very quickly and sometimes that's what's meant to be."**_


	55. Chapter 55

**Set mid-11x14. Before Herman wakes up. Partially inspired by George in 3x12.**

* * *

"Hey," Callie greeted softly as she walked into Nicole Herman's room in the ICU. The older fetal surgeon was still in a coma, and Arizona was sitting beside her bedside, tenderly holding her hand.

"Hey," Arizona smiled softly. She was thankful for Callie's support during the past few days. She was thankful that, even after everything, Callie was checking up on her. Having someone there made all the difference.

Callie moved to sit in the chair beside Arizona. She knew she didn't have to be there— maybe shouldn't be there— but she couldn't help it. She still loved Arizona, even if they were divorced. She still cared enough to make sure she was okay.

She silently watched her ex-wife watch her mentor, taking in her knotted hair, dirty scrubs, and worn-down face. She noted as Arizona's eyes as welled up with tears, and she noted as Arizona tried to subtly move away to hide them.

"What's wrong?" Callie asked, placing her hand on Arizona's back unthinkingly. She had become attuned to Arizona over the last several years. Callie knew how to read her, even when Arizona tried to hide her true emotions. Like now.

Arizona shoot her head, tilting her head back to ward off the tears. "I just..." she began shakily. "I have to make the call. Soon. Nicole told me that she didn't want to be like this. I should make the call."

Callie knit her eyebrows together. None of it was fair. "You're sure she has no one else to be her medical proxy?"

Arizona shook her head. "Just me."

Callie sighed sympathetically. "You'll do what's right. You don't have to make a decision tonight."

"I can't just let her die," Arizona finally turned to face Callie. Her tear-filled blue eyes revealed all the pain and fear she felt. Nicole was her friend. She was her teacher. And they'd formed a strong bond over the past few months. She couldn't imagine just unplugging her. Nicole was brilliant. It'd be a waste.

Callie's eyes held Arizona's desperately. "Don't. Not yet."

Arizona frowned. Callie had been in a similar situation with Mark, but she had followed his wishes exactly. After thirty days, she turned off his life support, just as his living will had requested. It was what Mark had wanted. Callie had respected his wishes, just as Arizona should now with Nicole. Why was Callie advising that Arizona ignore them?

But then, she remembered. Those whirlwind days after the plane crash. When she had made Callie promise her that she wouldn't let them take her leg. When she had told Callie she'd rather die than live without it.

Callie hadn't respected _her_ wishes. Callie hadn't chosen to listen to her; she'd chosen to save her life.

Arizona looked at her ex-wife questioningly. "Why did you do it?"

Callie looked at her in confusion. "Do what?"

"You were my medical proxy. You knew what I wanted, but you didn't listen. Why?"

Understanding, Callie searched Arizona's face, looking for traces of anger or contempt. She was met with only a sense of genuine curiosity and vulnerability. Arizona was serious. She was curious.

Callie pursed her lips in thought.

Feebly, she finally answered, "I promised to do whatever you couldn't. And, as your wife, that was always my job. You weren't in the right mindset to make the decision. You couldn't make the right call, so I had to."

Arizona shifted uncomfortably. It was all so hard to talk about. It was easier now that they were apart, sure, but it was still hard. The plane crash had not only disabled her physically, but it had also taken more away from her emotionally than she could ever comprehend. Still, there were days when she felt unrecognizable. And the crash and its aftermath had done that to her.

Callie continued, "We're doctors. We always say, 'life over limb.' Life takes precedence." She smiled gently. She was trying to tread lightly, hoping not to say anything to hurt Arizona worse, but it was hard. All of it was hard. The plane crash had cost them in ways she couldn't even begin to understand. It had changed their lives forever. It had destroyed them. "You were dying. I couldn't let you die. I had to try. I had to try to save your life."

Arizona looked at her, her stare unwavering. Waiting.

Callie shrugged helplessly. She took a chance, continuing to purge her honest thoughts. "I didn't know how to live in a world where you didn't."

Arizona could feel herself shaking. The past few days had been emotionally charged, but they had been nothing like this. Callie was being more honest with her than she had been in months. And Arizona was finally getting to a place where she and Callie could talk about the plane crash and her leg without her feeling like she might implode. Or explode. At Callie. But, she didn't feel like exploding now.

When Arizona refocused on the present, Callie had a faraway look in her eyes. She was somewhere else, not in this hospital room, but in an entirely different place. Her own Hell. One that Arizona knew nothing about. Finally, she ended, "I—" she paused. "I couldn't bear the thought of it."

Arizona tried to swallow the lump in her throat.

Callie tried to fight the pinch behind her eyes. She closed them for a second. She needed to regain composure. She needed to get some distance. It was no use talking about old wounds now.

"Anyway," she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, "You're an amazing doctor. You'll make the right call."

Arizona nodded. She needed some distance, too. "Thanks," she smiled softly.

Callie smiled back, close-mouthed but genuine, and she and Arizona shared comfortable moment of easy silence between them.

Eventually, Callie cleared her throat, moving her hands to the arm rests to hoist herself up. "I should probably go. I've got patients..."

Arizona looked at her understandingly. "Go," she whispered gingery. "And thank you, Callie. For being here."

Callie offered a final wistful smile. "I will be. If you need anything. Just let me know."

* * *

**Okay, so this chapter may not be super realistic. Whatever. I still wanted to write it!**

**Let me know what you think! Reviews make my day! :)**


	56. Chapter 56

**Callie and Arizona after 11x22. Safe to say it's an A/U since 11x22 just aired, and I have no idea what's coming up for them! Inspired partially by April in 9x24.**

* * *

Everyone in the hospital— patients, family members, and doctors— had felt the Earth move.

They had more than felt it. It rocked the hospital to its core as shelves in supply closets crashed down, surgical instruments in in-use ORs clattered to the floor, lights flickered, pipes broke, and surgeons made accidental scalpel cuts with shaking hands.

Everyone cowered in fear, crouching under tables and doorways, listening to the screams of scared kids and waiting for the earthquake to subside.

As the doctors felt the immense force of the seemingly endless tremor, they got ready to spring into action and help those who had gotten injured.

When the world around them finally stopped shaking, the hospital was in chaos. People were yelling and rushing towards nurses, insisting to see their loved ones, and towards stairwells, hoping to get outside and home.

With the power still out and the hospital in primarily darkness, Callie called out reassuringly, "It was just a little earthquake, people! No need to freak out!" But even she knew that it was more than a little earthquake. Her heart was still pounding, and she could have sworn that she'd heard the ceiling cracking during the quake.

She looked around desperately, unsure where to start. Should she check every room in the ICU to try to resuscitate everyone whose ventilators were no longer working without electricity? Should she bring flashlights to the ORs? Should she check on Sofia?

She looked around her. April was running out the door, headed for the ICU, Alex was assessing a woman who had hit her head, and Arizona was talking down an extremely pregnant woman from what looked to be a panic attack.

Owen was barking orders to someone about the backup generator. Somewhere, a baby was screaming.

Again, the lights flickered then turned back on. Owen hurried to turn on the flat screen on the wall in search of news.

"Good evening, Washington," a news reporter began on the television screen, "The Seattle-Tacoma area just suffered a major earthquake, what looks to have a magnitude of at least 6.5. Sources have reported that there have been at least two dozen roof collapses and that there is a thirty-car pile-up by the overpass bridge on Washington and 12th street. We only know of four casualties, but we expect there to be more, so if you are injured and able to make your way towards a nearby hospital safely, please do so. This has been McKenzie Lee with the latest news. I will give another update in an hour."

As the news channel's music began and the screen faded to black, Owen launched into soldier mode. The doctors needed to take action. Now.

He yelled into the big waiting room, "Can I get some volunteers to go help with the car crash victims?!"

"I'll go," Arizona called back decisively, getting up out of her crouch and heading towards him.

"Okay, good," Owen began, "There should be paramedic truck downstairs. Get some supplies and get in the rig."

Arizona nodded and hurried off. She knew that Alex would deal with her patients and any injured kids who came in, and she wanted to be helpful. A thirty-car pile-up sounded _bad_, and she wanted to do what she could to help.

Two other doctors followed her down the hallway, eager to help at the scene, too, and Owen turned towards Callie.

"Torres," he instructed, "You should go, too. There are probably some pretty severe injuries. Lots of broken bones. Go help."

Callie nodded, then quickly followed the rest of the doctors towards the truck.

When she got there, four doctors were already sitting, ready, inside the rig. Callie only then noticed that Arizona was one of them.

She gulped. She stepped inside. She sat across from her.

Arizona smiled at Callie and, tentatively, Callie smiled back. They had been separated for almost two years now, and things were good. They were good co-parents to Sofia, and they were friendly enough to each other.

Things were good. They had found themselves again. They were fulfilled.

But, still. Callie felt this strange urge to wrap her arms around Arizona and protect her from the day. It was a weird compulsion, and it caught Callie off guard. It had been nearly two years. She shouldn't feel so protective of Arizona anymore.

As the truck began heading to the accident scene a few miles away, Callie offered about the quake, "That one was huge. Already four causalities."

Arizona nodded. "And we know that thirty cars crashed into each other. We haven't even seen the worst of it."

Callie briefly closed her eyes, trying to send good thoughts and prayers into the world. She could already tell that it was going to be a tough night.

"I called the daycare," Arizona began.

Callie looked up at her, eyes wide. _Sofia_. Right.

"And Sofia's fine. Apparently, she and most of the other kids down there thought the earthquake was _fun_."

Callie smirked and shook her head. "Typical Sof."

Arizona dimpled. "That's what I said."

Callie smiled back genuinely. After a minute, she offered, "Hey, did you, um, want to try to stick together out there? If we can? There's going to be a lot going on and..." she paused, "It might make things easier."

Arizona nodded in agreement. "I was thinking the same thing."

Callie just looked at her, wondering for a second about whether or not Arizona was dating. Or, more precisely, _who_ she was dating. She felt a familiar pang of jealousy, but she silenced it. There was no reason for her to feel jealous. Their marriage had failed. Callie was over her. Of course she was.

Abruptly, the truck stopped, and a few seconds later, the back doors opened. The doctors deftly stepped out, eager to do their jobs and help the injured.

But as the doctors looked towards the aftermath, their eyes widened. It was worse than they had imagined. They could hear people screaming for help, there were cars on fire, there were people bleeding and stumbling around the middle of the road, and there was little space between each vehicle, keeping most people stuck inside their mangled cars.

"Wow," Callie breathed.

Arizona reached over and squeezed her shoulder briefly. "We can do this. Come on." Fearlessly, she headed towards the center of the commotion, armed with only a backpack full of supplies and a sense of responsibility.

Callie hurried after her.

Arizona yanked open the door of the nearest car. Time was key. They would need to get to as many people in as little time as possible if they wanted to save everyone who still had a chance.

"Are you okay?" Arizona asked the woman in the driver's seat.

The woman remained silent, looking straight ahead.

"Ma'am?" Callie asked gently. "We're doctors, and we're here to help. Are you in any pain?"

The woman finally turned to meet Callie and Arizona's worried eyes. "I was driving home from work. I need to...go home."

Arizona flagged down a paramedic in the distance. "Ma'am, you are going to be just fine. Can you get out of the car? This nice man right here is going to check you out and make sure everything's okay. Okay?"

The woman nodded, and Callie and Arizona allowed the young paramedic to take over. They needed to help those who were actually in dire need of it.

Callie spotted a bloodied woman lying on the hood of a car and began rushing towards her. The car was in surrounded on all sides, so she and Arizona had to climb over other vehicles to get towards it.

Callie found her way towards the woman, quickly checking for a pulse, and Arizona paused in front of the man at the steering wheel. The windshield had shattered completely, which was actually a relief because there was no other way he'd be able to get out otherwise.

"Sir, can you hear me?" Arizona inquired.

"My...wife..." he breathed.

"Are you in any pain?" Arizona asked. "Did you hit your head?"

The man shook his head. "M— m— my wife. We were going out to dinner, and all these cars came out of nowhere."

Arizona inhaled sharply. Those words ran close to home. "Dr. Torres is next to me checking out your wife right now, okay? But I want to know how you are."

"My wife," he breathed again. He was clearly in shock. Arizona could see that he was having a breakdown in his head. He knew the situation wasn't good.

Finally, Arizona risked a look at Callie. She thought she might have a breakdown of her own if the wife was dead.

Callie gave the tiniest shake of her head. No pulse. She was gone.

"Sir," Arizona tried again. "We need to get you out of here. Can you climb through the window, here?"

The man didn't answer. He was catatonic.

Arizona sighed. She looked around her. There was so much chaos.

She heard screaming coming from a car crashed below the overpass. It was a kid.

Callie heard it, too, and her eyes widened at Arizona. "Go," she insisted, understanding Arizona's responsibility to go help a kid. "I've got this."

Arizona nodded. "I'll be right back."

They shared a meaningful look as Callie looked into Arizona's eyes unwaveringly. "Be careful."

Again, Arizona gave a slight nod before climbing back over cars and running towards the screams from under the overpass. They were coming from inside a car. A car that had flipped over.

Arizona rushed towards an open window to get a better look.

Cars were still driving over the bridge over her head, and she swore that she could hear the concrete cracking with each turn of the wheels.

She needed to get the kid out of there. Fast.

"Hey," she smiled at the preteen girl inside. "Are you okay?"

"No!" the kid cried. "My sister! She was driving, and now she won't answer me!"

"What's your name?" Arizona asked.

"Katie."

"Katie. Okay. I need you to get out of here, okay? Can you take off your seat-belt?"

Katie nodded.

"I need you to take it off and crawl out this window. Then go wait for me over there," Arizona pointed behind her, about a hundred feet away from the overpass. "I'll help your sister, but you have to wait over there."

Katie nodded and unsnapped her seat-belt before crawling out.

"Does anything hurt?" Arizona asked, taking in the little girl's appearance. Surprisingly, she looked relatively unscathed.

Katie shook her head. "I want to help get my sister out."

Arizona sighed at Katie's stubbornness. She would have said the same thing if it were someone she loved. She looked up as she saw a layer of dust fall onto Katie's head. The overpass might crumble at any second. They needed to move fast.

"Help me get this door open," Arizona instructed. Together, they yanked the bent driver's side door open, and Arizona could finally see the shape the sister was in.

She felt for breathing and a pulse. The girl was breathing, and the pulse was irregular, but it was there.

"Is she alive?!" Katie shrilled helplessly.

"Katie, it's okay. She's alive."

The little girl began to sob in relief.

* * *

While Arizona took care of the kid under the overpass, only a few hundred feet away from her, Callie continued making her way through the people in the remaining cars. So far, three people had died on impact, and a few others had broken legs, hips, and ribs. A few people didn't even have a scratch on their bodies. It could have been so much worse.

She looked back towards the overpass. She caught a glimpse of blonde hair. Arizona was safe.

* * *

"Katie, I need your help. We're going to take off your sister's seat-belt and carefully get her out of the car. She's unconscious and she's bleeding a lot, and I don't want us to be under this overpass. We need to carry her away from it. Can you help me?"

"Y— y— yes," Katie muttered, trying to suppress her sobs.

"Good," Arizona smiled. "You're being super brave. Thank you."

Katie smiled back genuinely, even through her tears. She liked Arizona.

Arizona quickly reached up and unclasped the sister's seat-belt and angled her more horizontally so that they would be able to pull her out. Katie reached out and helped her.

Arizona looked up as what sounded like a semi-truck raced over the bridge. A wide crack had extended from one side of the overpass clear to the other. It might collapse. And, from the looks of it, it might collapse _soon_.

"Katie, grab her legs. Put them around you like you're going to give her a piggy-back ride. I'll carry the rest of her weight."

"Okay," the little girl nodded quickly, eager to help.

As Arizona hastily lifted the sister from her chest, she felt the ground shake beneath her.

An aftershock.

They needed to move fast.

"KATIE!" she shouted gravely, "RUN."

Katie followed Arizona's directions, quickly leading them to the other side of the overpass, away from the rest of the car crashes as Arizona raced behind her.

The concrete was cracking. Breaking. Buckling. Crumbling. Right above their heads.

If they didn't hurry, they were going to be smothered. Dead as doorknobs.

As the ground shook beneath them, Katie and Arizona sprinted towards safety. Katie stumbled and fell, dropping her sister's legs. "GET UP!" Arizona screamed. She reached down and grabbed Katie's arm, now dragging two girls behind her, hobbling as fast as her legs would take her.

She prayed that she wouldn't lose her balance and that her prosthetic wouldn't fail her. Not now. Not today. This was life or death.

The aftershock felt like a lifetime, but it was over in seconds. Amid falling trees and the sound of screams, Arizona gave one final push as they flew only a dozen feet away from the crumbling overpass.

In the last second, the tremor gained force, and that was all it took for the thousands of pounds of concrete to collapse to the ground, letting out a sound more cacophonous than a bomb and sending a layer of concrete dust to cover everything within a mile radius.

* * *

Immediately, Callie knew it was an aftershock. She felt fear take over her entire body as the Earth began to shake again, and she called out to everyone to protect their heads and not to move.

"It will be over soon! Just stay where you are!"

She looked towards the underpass, towards Arizona, but she couldn't see her anywhere. Ignoring her own advice, she began climbing over cars, hoping for a better view. Where was Arizona?

"Arizona!" she called, rushing closer to where she'd been. Callie was getting closer, but she was still so far. Where was Arizona?

Callie heard a scream behind her, and she turned back to help. As she rushed towards the petrified woman, she heard a definite cracking sound behind her.

She turned back. No.

No.

The overpass.

She bolted for the overpass, desperate to somehow do something. Desperate to somehow save her. It could crumble at any second.

"ARIZONA!" Callie screamed. "ARIZONA! GET OUT OF THERE!"

She sprinted closer, she could see pieces of rock falling. The bridge was coming apart with every second that passed.

"ARIZONA!" she screamed again. Callie needed to get to her. She needed to save her.

A nearby paramedic noticed Callie carelessly racing for the crumbling bridge and sprung into action.

"ARIZONA!" she screamed. She was only fifteen feet away. But before she could edge any closer, she felt arms around her, and she was tackled to the ground.

From the ground, she heard a deafening crash behind her.

"NO!" she sobbed hysterically. "ARIZONA! NO!" Callie pushed the paramedic off her and scrambled towards the rubble, precariously trying to claw through it and push off rocks to get to Arizona. "NO!"

The paramedic raced for her again, pulling her away from the pile of cement. There was no use in her dying, too.

"NO!" she screamed. "NO!" she collapsed in grief, putting her head in her hands. She fell to the asphalt beneath her.

* * *

Arizona used her body to shelter the girls, her heart exploding in her chest. It had been so close. They had nearly been crushed. Pulverized. Now, there was a pile of broken concrete ten feet high separating them from the rest of the crash victims. From Callie. She needed to get over it. Back to the other side.

Was Callie okay?

She needed to get back.

After a few minutes, Katie's sister finally regained consciousness. "What...happened?" she breathed.

Arizona tried to slow her shallow breathing. They'd been _this_ close. _This_ close to dying.

"We were in a car crash!" Katie cried. "And an earthquake! You were driving me home from soccer practice and we crashed! Brooke, you're okay!" She hugged her sister and Arizona smiled gratefully at them.

She had saved them. They would all be okay.

Was Callie okay?

She needed to get back.

"Are you two both okay to walk?" Arizona asked.

The girls nodded.

"Okay, we need to get you back to the other side of where the bridge was. There are paramedics there, and they can get you guys to the hospital."

They waited.

"The only way to get back is to step over the rubble. It's precarious, so we need to be careful, okay?"

Again, they nodded, and the three of them worked to step over the rocks and back towards the remaining crash victims.

Was Callie okay?

* * *

Callie was in shock. She. Was in. Shock. She was. Overcome by grief.

She had never felt more heartbroken in her entire life. More stupid.

Because she had loved Arizona. She had loved her every second, she was realizing. Every second since the divorce.

And she had tried to convince herself that she hadn't. She'd tried to mash it down, and not say it, and not _feel_ it, but Arizona was the person she loved.

She always _would be_ the person she loved.

And now Arizona was dead and buried under thousands of pounds of cement.

Callie couldn't breathe. She couldn't blink. Couldn't think.

All she could do was look at what was left of the overpass.

Arizona was dead.

* * *

Arizona carefully helped Katie and Brooke over the unstable rubble, following close behind. It was hard to make her way over precarious broken cement with one artificial leg.

"I'm right behind you guys," she assured them, "Just head towards a paramedic or a doctor. They'll take care of you."

The girls followed Arizona's orders and scrambled down the other side of the rubble. They raced towards a nearby paramedic truck.

Callie didn't even see them. She couldn't see anything. The woman she loved was dead.

Arizona began lowering herself down the other side of the destruction. She could finally see the chaos of mangled cars and people in the distance, and though sad, it felt somehow like a relief.

She was okay.

But even as she carefully placed her feet and continued down the mountain of rocks, she was looking for Callie.

At last, Arizona spotted her. Sitting on the ground, eyes glued straight ahead. Looking at Arizona but not really seeing her.

Callie's eyes widened as her eyes focused and she took in the sight before her.

It was Arizona.

Arizona.

She wasn't dead.

Callie pushed herself up off the ground with her hands, standing up and running towards the blonde. "ARIZONA?"

Arizona offered an exhausted smile. "Callie," she breathed.

Callie was okay.

"ARIZONA!" Callie couldn't believe it. She couldn't say her name enough. She rushed towards the crumbled concrete, eager to help Arizona to safety. Eager to tell her everything she'd been burying deep inside her and hadn't realized until just then.

Eager to tell her that she still loved her. Eager to hold her and never let go.

"You're...alive," Callie managed between sobs as she clambered up the rocky hill towards her. She stumbled, her legs not moving fast enough.

At the same time, Arizona tried to edge closer to Callie, scrabbling down the hill as fast as she could. Why was Callie crying?

"You're alive, you're alive, you're alive," Callie whispered again and again, getting closer and closer.

She was desperate to hold Arizona. She couldn't believe it was real. She was alive.

"Callie...?" Arizona questioned when Callie was only a few feet away from her. What was going on?

Callie climbed up on a final rock, and finally at eye-level, her eyes intensely focused on Arizona. Without a second of hesitation, she fervidly wrapped her arms around Arizona's body with all the strength she had.

Arizona was alive.

She was alive, and Callie still loved her.

Callie still wanted her. No one else. She knew that now.

After a second of confused hesitation, Arizona brought her arms up to wrap around Callie's body, clinging to her with everything she had.

She didn't know what was going on, and right now, she didn't care. She had been aching for Callie's embrace for so long. She would take whatever she could get.

Callie pulled back regretfully after a few minutes. She moved her hands to cup Arizona's face. It had been so long since they'd touched each other so freely. Callie felt her stomach doing somersaults. No one else's skin had ever made her feel this way.

Arizona watched Callie's face. She felt a pinch behind her eyes, and she didn't know why.

"I thought you were dead," Callie attempted to explain.

Arizona smiled slightly. "I'm not."

Callie released a shaky breath. She shook her head. Arizona wasn't getting it.

Arizona pulled away and looked at Callie questioningly. What was Callie _doing_? Arizona was getting hopeful, and she knew that she shouldn't be. She had been trying to give Callie space to learn to walk again. She had been giving Callie space for two years: to find herself, to be happy, and then to hopefully find her way back to Arizona.

Because Arizona knew that she wouldn't ever want anyone other than Callie. She _could_ never want anyone after Callie. She knew that now.

It had been nearly two years, and she had refused any opportunity to try to move on. She couldn't.

She would love Callie forever.

What was Callie trying to say now?

Callie pursed her lips. She sighed. She decided to take the risk and jump over the cliff, hoping that Arizona would catch her. "I love you."

Arizona raised her eyebrows.

"I still love you. I've been loving you. And I tried to convince myself that I didn't, and I tried to move on, but I can't. I don't want to." She paused as tears welled up in her eyes. "I want to be with you. Forever. I didn't before because we got lost. We just kept hurting each other. But it's been two years. You've grown. I've grown. And I know we still have problems, but marriage isn't supposed to be easy. It's hard sometimes. And maybe we'll hurt each other again, but it's worth the risk."

Arizona just stared at Callie, wide-eyed. She wasn't sure if her heart was beating so fast that she couldn't feel it or if it had stopped entirely.

Callie offered a nervous smile. She wanted to know what Arizona was thinking. She needed to know that it wasn't one sided. Shakily, she breathed, "You're worth the risk."

Arizona grabbed Callie's face and pulled it to hers, kissing her with such love and ferocity that it surprised even her.

On Callie's cheeks, the pulsing nerves in Arizona's fingertips felt that _warmth_ and that miraculous, one-of-a-kind _Callie-ness_ of her ex-wife's beautiful soul.

Callie kissed her back fiercely, trying to pour two years worth of love into Arizona's lips. No, a lifetime's worth. Her hands cradled Arizona's skull, rendering her immobile. She never wanted Arizona's soft lips leave hers again.

She loved this woman. She realized now that Arizona was who she wanted.

She thought that they would be happy without each other. And maybe they were.

Maybe they had been happy. At times.

But they were happier together.

They were better when they were together.

Finally, together, they pulled back for air, still keeping their hands on each other. Never letting each other go.

They looked into each other's eyes, each staring straight into the soul of their own personal miracle.

Each staring straight into the soul of the person who knew all their flaws and loved them anyway. Loved them even more.

Callie and Arizona crashed their lips together again, neither knowing who initiated it, and they felt their separate hearts shatter in their chests and then rebuild as just one.

They clung to each other, for a moment, not caring about anything else in the world.

After so long, after so much individual growth, again:

They were one.

* * *

**Okay, so I've resorted to writing scenarios of them getting back together because I'm so desperate for it! Grrr. Trusting the journey is hard.**

**As always, REVIEWS MAKE ME SO SO HAPPY! So if you liked it or have any ideas for future Moments, please let me know :)**


	57. Chapter 57

**Set Mid-11x22. Callie and Arizona work together. And other stuff.**

* * *

"HELP!" a teenage boy screamed as he rushed through the double doors of the ER. "Please help me!"

April was overseeing the pit for the afternoon, and she rushed towards him. He was holding a limp teenage girl in his arms.

"My girlfriend!" he screamed, terrified. "She fell out of a tree!"

"Can I get a gurney?!" April called towards a nearby nurse, who quickly scurried off. She turned back to the boy, "What happened?"

As he quickly helped the nurse lie the girl across the hospital bed a second later, April took a second to quickly page Arizona.

The boy answered, "I— I was trying to be romantic, so I planned a date in a tree. I thought it'd be fun! But we were kissing and..." he paused, "Lila fell."

"OW!" the girl, Lila, screamed. She had passed out from pain when they'd first come in, but now she was coming to.

Answering her page, Arizona rushed towards them. "What happened?" she asked April.

"She fell out of a tree. Do you have this? I have t—"

"Go," Arizona nodded. "I've got this."

Arizona took a brief second to appraise the patient. Her left arm and leg were swollen, and she had scratches up and down her face. She turned to the boyfriend, "Why don't you go call her parents?"

He nodded anxiously. "Okay." He turned to the girl. "Lila, babe, I'll be right back, okay? I'm so sorry. It was such a stupid idea. I... wanted to be romantic. I messed up."

Lila held back a moan of pain. "It's...okay..." she managed, teeth clenched. "It was romantic."

He laughed gratefully, almost sobbing, and bent down to give her a lingering kiss. "I'll be right back."

Arizona offered Lila a reassuring smile. "Now that he's gone, you can scream if something hurts." She gingerly put her hand on the patient's swollen thigh and felt a definite broken femur under her skin. Ouch.

"AAAAaghhh!" Lila screamed in agony.

A broken femur meant surgery, and it meant that it was also an Ortho case. Arizona wasted no time paging Callie. The girl must have been in agonizing pain. They should move fast.

A minute later, the boyfriend was back. "Lila! Hey." He rushed to the side of her bed and grabbed the hand that wasn't injured. "I called your mom, and she's on her way. What can I do? I'm so sorry!"

"Matt," Lila smiled, clearly in love even when in pain. "You never finished your little speech on our date. Keep going with that."

Arizona smiled at their sweet interaction but reminded them to focus on what's important. "Matt, why don't you get Lila's mom on the line so that we can get her consent for surgery? Your girlfriend's in a lot of pain."

"Okay!" he hurriedly nodded. "One sec." He turned away to make the call, and it was then that Callie rushed towards them.

"Hey," she came up behind Arizona, putting on gloves. "What's this?"

"Lila here was on a date with her boyfriend when she fell out of a tree. She has a definite femur fracture, so I called you. Her parents aren't here yet, so Matt there is calling her mom to get consent."

Callie nodded, quickly approaching the patient and inspecting the swollen leg for herself.

Even at the feel of Callie's gentle touch, Lila cried out again, and Arizona winced empathetically.

"Lila, I know it hurts. We're going to take you to surgery as soon as we talk to your mom."

Matt held out the phone to Arizona, and Arizona worked on obtaining their medical information and official verbal consent to do surgery.

Matt went back to Lila's bedside. Callie wanted to laugh at the poor kid. It looked like he was in more pain than she was. Which was saying something.

From her hospital bed, Lila clearly tried to remain stoic for his sake. "Babe, it's okay. I'll be fine. Promise."

He clenched her hand with both of his own and goofily grinned down at her. "Good, cause I'd be pretty bummed if you weren't," he joked.

They were so in love that it made Callie's teeth hurt.

Arizona finally turned back towards them. "Okay. We're good. Let's go fix your leg, huh Lila?"

Lila nodded weakly. "Sounds fab." She turned to her boyfriend, "Wait for me, okay? I'll see you soon, and then we can finish our date in a quaint little hospital room."

He smirked, squeezing her hand. "I'll bring you flowers."

"You better," she grinned, then winced in pain.

"Okay, let's go," Callie decided, and she and Arizona put up the bed's railings. "Matt, you can go sit in the waiting room. We'll take good care of her."

"Okay," he nodded, slowly backing away, never taking his eyes off his girlfriend.

Callie and Arizona rushed into the elevator and towards OR two, which had been set up for them. As they scrubbed, Callie chuckled. "Boy, he is _whipped_. He adores her." she joked conversationally.

Arizona grinned jovially. "I know. It was sweet."

Callie allowed herself to watch Arizona for a second, just taking in her appearance and demeanor. She looked happy. Happier. That was good.

Arizona dried her hands, turning to Callie and catching her staring.

Callie turned away, a little too quickly. "Are you, uh, ready?"

Arizona nodded gently, and they headed into the OR together.

Callie and Arizona worked side-by-side quietly, Callie setting the femur and Arizona assisting and overlooking her work, since it was technically a Peds case.

The silence was easy, and they allowed their shoulders to occasionally brush comfortably.

Though they had been divorced for over a year and had moved on separately, Callie still felt her heart speed up at the feeling of Arizona beside her. She attempted to take deep, meditative breaths to slow it down. It must just be an old habit, she thought.

Beside her, Arizona couldn't help but get a whiff of Callie's hair. It smelled better than any perfume.

It smelled like home.

Still, she forced herself to focus at the task at hand, and so did Callie. Soon, the femur was repaired, and they sent her into recovery.

Callie followed Arizona into the scrub room.

As they washed up, Arizona turned to face her. "Good job in there," she smiled. "Watching you work is..." she paused, "You're amazing."

Callie widened her eyes at the praise. The last time Arizona had praised her professionally had been, well, years ago. It had been a long time. "Thank you," she responded genuinely. Coming from Arizona, it meant everything.

Arizona turned off the faucet and silently watched Callie as she finished washing up. She looked good. Happy. "Want to go tell the mom with me?"

* * *

They found Lila's mom in the waiting room, sitting with her hands clasped between her thighs and her legs bouncing anxiously.

"Ms. Martin?" Arizona asked gently as she and Callie slowly approached her.

The woman looked up. "Is Lila okay?!"

"She's great," Arizona reassured her. "She's in recovery right now. Dr. Torres here did an excellent job setting her femur fracture, and she should be able to walk again within a few months."

"Oh, thank God," the mom sighed in relief.

"Do you want to go see her?"

"Please!" she gathered together her stuff and Callie and Arizona quickly brought her to her daughter's room.

As she sat at the girl's bedside, she turned back to the doctors. "Oh, Matt went to the gift shop, but he should be back where you found me soon. Would you mind telling him the good news? He'd want to know."

Callie nodded, "Sure," and she and Arizona headed back towards the waiting room.

As they strolled back beside each other, Callie said, "He sure waited for a long time. That was a six hour surgery."

Arizona shrugged. "When you love someone, I guess the wait's worth it." The words slipped out before she could stop them.

When they reached the entrance to the third floor waiting room, they immediately spotted Matt. He was sitting in a cushy chair surrounded by balloons, flowers, and a teddy bear: all gifts for his girlfriend.

Callie and Arizona smirked. He was such a dorky-looking kid, but he was so sweet.

He spotted them and quickly stood up. "Lila? How is she?!"

"She's still sedated, but the surgery was a success," Callie assured him, smiling.

He let out a long, relieved breath. "Oh. Good."

Callie couldn't help herself. "How long have you two been together?"

Frankly, Arizona was curious, too.

He gave a shrug. "Six-ish months? We liked each other before, but we weren't together because, well, have you seen her? Her friends got so weird whenever she'd try to hang out with a geek like me, and mine thought I was ditching them. But then, we went to Homecoming together and it was..." he shook his head in awe, thinking back to the memory, "Magical. We realized that we loved each other, and none of the rest of it mattered."

Arizona felt herself tense at his final words. They were all too familiar.

Standing a few feet away from her, Callie recalled a memory at hearing his final words, too. Arizona had said something similar after she'd come back from Africa.

Then, they had been romantic. Now, both Callie and Arizona knew that they weren't true. Sometimes, love just wasn't enough.

Callie risked a peek at Arizona, wanting to gauge her ex-wife's reaction. She was tensed in perfect posture with her eyes glued to Matt.

He grinned boyishly. "We were just made for each other."

At that simple declaration, Arizona unconsciously looked up at Callie, only to find that Callie was already looking at her. For the briefest second, their eyes locked. Then, skin flushing, they hurriedly and awkwardly turned away, looking at anything else.

Finally, Arizona cleared her throat. "Should we go see her?"

"Please!" Matt assembled his stuff together, and Arizona turned to Callie, wanting to let her go home and get some rest after the long surgery. "You can go," she offered. "I've got this. There's no reason we should both be here."

Callie hesitated. A part of her didn't want to go home. A part of her wanted to talk to and just be in the presence of Arizona more, even though she knew that made no sense. They were divorced. It had been two years. She pursed her lips. "I don't mind staying," she replied truthfully.

Arizona smiled at her. "I've got this, Callie. Go home."

After another second of hesitancy, Callie finally nodded. "_Thanks_," she smiled gratefully. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow," Arizona affirmed. Then, she turned back to Matt, who was weighed down with all of his gifts, and together, they began walking towards Lila's room.

Callie sighed and walked towards the attendings lounge when they were out of sight, anxious to change into her street clothes and to go home at last.

* * *

When she finally got home to her big, empty house, she fell into bed instantly. Physically, she was exhausted. She hadn't slept in thirty six hours. But mentally, she was wound up. She kept thinking about Lila and Matt and about how much they loved each other.

She was lonely. Tonight, her bed felt more empty than usual.

She sighed, exasperated, and rolled towards what used to be considered Arizona's side of the bed.

She wrapped her arms around one of her pillows, needing some sort of connection. She wrapped herself around it, pretending that it was a person.

Pretending that it was someone's warm form.

Pretending that it was Arizona.

Just for a second.

* * *

**It's 3:25 a.m. so WHAT AM I DOING WRITING FANFICTION? Who knows.**

**Anyway, as always, reviews are much appreciated!**

**Also, if anyone's interested in following my Grey's blog, you should! Mermaidsocks . tumblr. com :)**


	58. Chapter 58

**A/U after 11x22. Inspired partially by Private Practice 2x04.**

* * *

"Grey! Torres!" Webber yelled as he rushed towards them.

As he rushed up beside them at the nurses' station, Meredith and Callie looked up at him quizzically.

"Are you two free for a quick board meeting right now? We need to talk about something."

Meredith and Callie looked towards each other, their eyebrows knit together. Was something wrong?

"Is everything okay, Chief?" Callie asked for them both.

"Everything is fine. Can we meet?"

Meredith shrugged. "I'm available."

"Me, too," Callie agreed. "As long as it's not for too long."

"Great!" Webber said excitedly, backing away. "I'll go track down everyone else and see you in the conference room in a few minutes."

As promised, a few minutes later, the remaining board members— Arizona, Jackson, and Bailey— shuffled in front of Webber into the conference room, where Callie and Meredith were already waiting.

When they were all finally sitting down, Jackson asked what they were all wondering. "What's going on, Chief?"

Webber paused before answering. "That's what it's about, actually." He cleared his throat. "Hunt has confided in me that he wants to get back into trauma surgery, and he no longer wants to go back to being the chief."

Everyone's eyes widened. They waited for their interim chief to finish.

"And, as you know, I've been acting in his absence, but I think it's time for me to pass the baton. I was chief for a long time, and it's someone else's turn. So," he paused, "The board needs to discuss and vote on who would be this hospital's next good leader. I have my ideas, but...it's your call."

From her seat at the table, Callie inquired, "Are you sure you don't want to keep being chief? I mean, you're good at it."

Webber shook his head decisively. "I had my turn. Now, it's someone else's." He stood up. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know about Hunt. I'll leave you to think about who's up next."

They all just nodded, thinking silently as Webber left. Who could be the next chief? Surely, it would have to be one of them. Out of all of the doctors at Grey-Sloan, they were among the best leaders.

"Well," Jackson began, taking charge as he looked at everyone. "How about those interested in potentially running for chief work on a proposal, and we can all reconvene in a week to vote? Sound good?"

There were nods around the table. Callie risked a look at Arizona, wondering if she would consider running. Arizona was a good teacher, and she'd be an excellent leader.

Meredith was eager to leave, knowing that she wasn't going to run. She'd seen the monotonous work of a chief during Derek's brief internment. It wasn't something she'd enjoy. Anyway, with him gone, she didn't have the time to do it, anyway.

Jackson was considering it. He needed something. Something more. After the death of his baby...

April had joined the army for nine months. He needed something more, too.

Arizona, on the other hand, didn't even consider the invitation. She had just become double-board certified and was a single mom (half the time, anyway). She had enough on her plate.

Bailey was the only one of them who was completely thrilled by the idea. She had wanted to become chief for a very long time. Webber himself had told her that, one day, she would be. Now was her chance.

The board members stood up and left the conference room, continuing about their days almost as if nothing had changed. Doing surgeries, bandaging wounds, cleaning cuts, then finally going home to their respective families at the end of the day.

* * *

At Alex's house, after she had put Sofia to bed, Arizona allowed herself to think about who might be a good chief. She assumed that Bailey would run for the position, but she wondered if Callie would, too.

Callie would be a good chief.

Her ex-wife had grown a lot during the time Arizona had known her. She'd become more comfortable speaking in front of people, and she'd always been an excellent teacher to interns and residents. Arizona had even noticed how much confidence she'd gotten back in the last year and a half or two since their separation. Callie had found herself again, and it showed.

Callie would be a good chief. Arizona had no doubt about it.

* * *

As the week progressed, Arizona found herself still wondering about Callie. Now that the idea was in her head, she couldn't think of much else. Callie would lead with a grace, thoughtfulness, fairness, and enthusiasm that even Webber lacked.

Arizona and Meredith had a case on together, with both a little girl and her mom needing general surgery. Arizona decided to ask about Meredith's thoughts.

"Hey, Meredith," she began, and Meredith looked up at her. "Have you thought about who would make a good chief? Have you heard any word of who's running?"

Meredith shrugged, unconcerned. "I know Bailey's running, and Kepner said Jackson might."

Arizona raised her eyebrows. "Jackson? Seriously?"

"Mhm," she confirmed. Why?"

Arizona bit her lip. "I was just wondering if you'd heard if Callie was running. I thought she might be good."

"She hasn't said anything," Meredith responded simply. She paused for a second. "She'd be good, though, you're right. She was really chiefly and supportive during that plane crash last year."

Arizona cringed. That small plane crash. It had been her own fault that Callie wasn't supportive of Arizona that day. Arizona had scared her away from even mentioning anything plane crash related after her own experience. After that stormy night.

Meredith smiled. "Well, if all three of them run, then we're the only ones whose votes actually matter, right?"

Arizona nodded. "You'll vote for Callie with me? I know that Bailey is our friend and could be a great leader..." she began.

Meredith shook her head. "Callie would be better."

Arizona smiled. "Right."

"I'll vote for her with you. She deserves it."

Arizona smiled back appreciatively, enough to reveal her dimples, and then they both went back to their patients.

* * *

A few days later, the day finally came to listen to the chief candidates' presentations.

Bailey was dressed in a nice, navy blue pantsuit, and Jackson was also wearing a pressed suit, each with white binders in front of them on the long conference table. Arizona sat down beside Meredith, and all four of them waited for Callie to come in so that they could begin.

When Callie shuffled in at last, Arizona noticed that she wasn't dressed up, and she didn't have a binder of proposal plans. Clearly, she wasn't running.

"Sorry I'm late," she offered, frazzled. She sat down beside Bailey. "I thought Richard should be here, too, so I invited him. He was the chief for a long time. I figured he deserves a vote."

Bailey smiled mischievously. She knew that that just meant one more vote for her. "Fine by me."

Jackson shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Everyone knew that Bailey was Webber's favorite.

A moment later, Webber hurried inside. "I'm here! Are we ready?"

Bailey nodded. "Ready."

Jackson bowed slightly, nervous. "Ready," he croaked.

"Who's going first?" Meredith asked.

"I'll go," Bailey declared confidently. Over the course of the next ten minutes, she delivered a well-organized speech about why she was right for the position.

It was a good speech, and everyone listened carefully, but it somehow didn't feel quite right. Bailey wasn't ready, yet. She was often a great leader, but she sometimes lacked the professionalism and distance that a good chief needed.

Everyone clapped respectfully as she finished. Then, they turned their attention to the only other candidate: Jackson.

His speech was also compelling, but he seemed too young and inexperienced. Meredith and Arizona couldn't imagine him being their chief, and he annoyed Callie most of the time, so she didn't like the idea, either.

Again, Meredith, Arizona, Callie, and Webber clapped politely at the end of his presentation.

"Well done, you two," Arizona smiled. "Let's vote."

Each of the board members— and Webber— covered their slips of paper with their hands as they scrawled down the name of their favorite chief candidate. As each person finished writing, they tossed their folded up slip into a wooden bowl in the middle of the table.

Callie was having trouble deciding who to vote for, though. She loved Bailey, but choosing her as chief just didn't feel right. And Jackson, though organized and professional, definitely wasn't ready for so much responsibility in her mind.

She sighed. She almost wished she had run, but she knew that would have been silly. She had failed as chief resident, so she would most definitely fail as chief. And, she hated public speaking.

Still, she didn't know how to choose. She resolved to just leave the paper blank. Someone else could be the tie breaker.

"Are everyone's votes in?" Bailey asked, suddenly nervous.

Everyone nodded.

She turned to Webber. "Chief, why don't you do the honors?"

He smiled gratefully. "You all ready? Remember, no matter who's chosen, you're both good leaders."

Bailey and Jackson nodded, stiffening in their seats.

Arizona made eye contact with Meredith, and they shared a brief mischievous smile. Callie might not win with only their two votes, but she would at least know that she could have.

"Okay," Webber began, "Here we go." He pulled out a name. "Bailey." He set it down on the table.

Bailey did a proud little dance in her seat.

He pulled out another name, "Avery."

Jackson smirked.

Webber pulled out another slip of paper, "This one's blank."

Bailey knit her eyebrows together. "Hey, that's n—"

"It's fine, Bailey," Webber interrupted. "It's fair for one board member to abstain from voting. We'll still have a tie breaker."

She crossed her arms but didn't say anything else.

The Chief pulled out another. He cleared his throat. "Torres."

Callie knit her eyebrows together. Her head fell forward; she was shocked. "What?"

Jackson and Bailey exclaimed, "WHAT?" That wasn't fair. Callie hadn't even run!

Arizona pursed her lips to hide her smile.

Webber ignored everyone, continuing on with the next slip. "Torres."

Callie's eyes widened. "No. Wait—"

Still ignoring her reaction, he pulled out the final slip. "Torres."

Meredith's eyes widened. That meant that Webber had voted for Callie, too. That meant that she had won.

Webber set the final piece of paper down on the table smiled paternally at Callie. "It looks like Torres here is our new chief of surgery."

Callie moved her gaze around the table, stunned.

Bailey and Jackson were glaring straight ahead, confused, Meredith was grinning at her knowingly, and Arizona was positively _beaming_.

"I— I—" Callie began, stuttering, "I didn't even run!"

Webber shrugged. "Looks like you should have. Congratulations. You're going to make an excellent chief."

Callie's jaw felt like it was being pulled down to her toes. She was shocked.

Webber kept smiling, looking around the table expectantly. "Well, let's give her a hand!" he insisted as he began to clap jovially.

Arizona and Meredith eagerly followed, and Bailey and Jackson eventually joined in. Even they had to admit that Callie would make a good chief.

Callie felt herself blush, flustered and flattered. She couldn't even say anything. What the Hell had just happened?

After a few minutes, the meeting was adjourned, and her friends patted her on the back and congratulated her as they left the conference room and either headed home or back to work.

Still, Callie couldn't seem to move. What the _Hell_ had just happened?

She and Arizona were the last people left in the room, and finally, Arizona stood up and grabbed her things.

Callie stared at her questioningly. "_You_ voted for me?"

Arizona smiled at her proudly, her dimples and _brightness_ nearly taking over her face. She moved to sit to the chair beside Callie before answering. "Of course. Meredith and I talked about how good you'd be, and I guess Webber just came to the conclusion on his own."

Callie widened her eyes. She couldn't believe it. "_Why_?" she chuckled incredulously.

Arizona almost rolled her eyes. Callie had no idea how good she was. "Because you're going to make an awesome chief," she insisted. "You're the best person for the job."

Callie smiled appreciatively. Her heart swelled at the thought of Arizona thinking she was the best, which she knew was silly. She shouldn't care what her ex-wife thought of her. They'd been separated for two years. She shouldn't care.

But she did. She felt honored.

Arizona patted Callie's knee chastely and beamed at her again. "Seriously. You're going to be amazing." As she began standing up, she caught Callie's quick giggle and bright, wide smile.

Callie stood up and followed Arizona to the door, holding it open for the smaller woman.

"I'm gonna go pick up Sofia," Arizona offered, turning to Callie and slightly backing away towards the elevators. "Congratulations. I'll see you soon."

"Tell her goodnight for me!" Callie pleaded, smiling. "And _thank you_."

Arizona waved and turned around, grinning. Callie deserved this win. Callie was going to be great.

Callie finally exhaled a shaky breath and headed towards the attendings lounge, ready to change her clothes and go home after the long, surprising day.

When she opened the door, she saw Meredith inside, changing out of her scrubs, too.

"Hey," Callie smiled. She had been trying to do her best to support Mer in any way she could since Derek died. Everyone was pitching in: inviting her for dinner, watching Bailey, Zola, and sometimes even Ellis, and just checking in with her.

"Hey, Chief," Meredith joked. "How's it feel?"

Callie shook her head, chuckling. "I did _not_ know you guys were going to do that."

Meredith grinned. "I know. You should have seen your face." She paused. "Arizona really pushed for you, you know? You guys seem good now. I'm glad you're getting along."

"Arizona did?" Callie raised her eyebrows. Arizona made it seem as if Meredith had thought to vote for Callie on her own.

Meredith nodded. She had always been one for complete honesty. "Yeah, she came up with the idea."

Callie didn't know what to do with that information. She was trying to process what it meant. All it meant was that Arizona respected her professionally. It didn't mean anything else. Right?

"Anyway," Meredith continued. "I've gotta get home. We should plan a play date for Zola and Sofia soon."

Callie shook herself out of her thoughts. "Sure. Yeah," she answered absent-mindedly.

Meredith gave her a quick congratulatory shoulder squeeze and then headed out the door, leaving Callie alone with her thoughts.

It didn't mean anything that Arizona had pushed for her to become chief. Right?

* * *

**If next episode, it turns out that Callie and AZ are completely over each other, I'm going to be SUPER PISSED because in my head canon they've been pining for each other despite the fact that they refuse to admit it to themselves (or each other). **

**Happy Sunday night, peeps! May your school and work weeks be bearable. **

**I've got a big speech for my public speaking class, so wish me luck on that!**

**As always, reviews are encouraged. :) (Unlike tips, they're free of charge and make me super happy!)**


	59. Chapter 59

**Callie and Arizona after 11x22. Safe to say it's an A/U since 11x22 just aired, and I have no idea what's coming up for them! **

**The beginning is just like Chapter 56, but then I took it another direction.**

* * *

Everyone in the hospital— patients, family members, and doctors— had felt the Earth move.

They had more than felt it. It rocked the hospital to its core as shelves in supply closets crashed down, surgical instruments in in-use ORs clattered to the floor, lights flickered, pipes broke, and surgeons made accidental scalpel cuts with shaking hands.

Everyone cowered in fear, crouching under tables and doorways, listening to the screams of scared kids and waiting for the earthquake to subside.

As the doctors felt the immense force of the seemingly endless tremor, they got ready to spring into action and help those who had gotten injured.

When the world around them finally stopped shaking, the hospital was in chaos. People were yelling and rushing towards nurses, insisting to see their loved ones, and towards stairwells, hoping to get outside and home.

With the power still out and the hospital in primarily darkness, Callie called out reassuringly, "It was just a little earthquake, people! No need to freak out!" But even she knew that it was more than a little earthquake. Her heart was still pounding, and she could have sworn that she'd heard the ceiling cracking during the quake.

She looked around desperately, unsure where to start. Should she check every room in the ICU to try to resuscitate everyone whose ventilators were no longer working without electricity? Should she bring flashlights to the ORs? Should she check on Sofia?

She looked around her. April was running out the door, headed for the ICU, Alex was assessing a woman who had hit her head, and Arizona was talking down an extremely pregnant woman from what looked to be a panic attack.

Owen was barking orders to someone about the backup generator. Somewhere, a baby was screaming.

Again, the lights flickered then turned back on. Owen hurried to turn on the flat screen on the wall in search of news.

"Good evening, Washington," a news reporter began on the television screen, "The Seattle-Tacoma area just suffered a major earthquake, what looks to have a magnitude of at least 6.5. Sources have reported that there have been at least two dozen roof collapses and that there is a thirty-car pile-up by the overpass bridge on Washington and 12th street. We only know of four casualties, but we expect there to be more, so if you are injured and able to make your way towards a nearby hospital safely, please do so. This has been McKenzie Lee with the latest news. I will give another update in an hour."

As the news channel's music began and the screen faded to black, Owen launched into soldier mode. The doctors needed to take action. Now.

He yelled into the big waiting room, "Can I get some volunteers to go help with the car crash victims?!"

"I'll go," Arizona called back decisively, getting up out of her crouch and heading towards him.

"Okay, good," Owen began, "There should be paramedic truck downstairs. Get some supplies and get in the rig."

Arizona nodded and hurried off. She knew that Alex would deal with her patients and any injured kids who came in, and she wanted to be helpful. A thirty-car pile-up sounded _bad_, and she wanted to do what she could to help.

Two other doctors followed her down the hallway, eager to help at the scene, too, and Owen turned towards Callie.

"Torres," he instructed, "You should go, too. There are probably some pretty severe injuries. Lots of broken bones. Go help."

Callie nodded, then quickly followed the rest of the doctors towards the truck.

When she got there, four doctors were already sitting, ready, inside the rig. Callie only then noticed that Arizona was one of them.

She gulped. She stepped inside. She sat across from her.

Arizona smiled at Callie and, tentatively, Callie smiled back. They had been separated for almost two years now, and things were good. They were good co-parents to Sofia, and they were friendly enough to each other.

Things were good. They had found themselves again. They were fulfilled.

But, still. Callie felt this strange urge to wrap her arms around Arizona and protect her from the day. It was a weird compulsion, and it caught Callie off guard. It had been nearly two years. She shouldn't feel so protective of Arizona anymore.

As the truck began heading to the accident scene a few miles away, Callie offered about the quake, "That one was huge. Already four causalities."

Arizona nodded. "And we know that thirty cars crashed into each other. We haven't even seen the worst of it."

Callie briefly closed her eyes, trying to send good thoughts and prayers into the world. She could already tell that it was going to be a tough night.

"I called the daycare," Arizona began.

Callie looked up at her, eyes wide. _Sofia_. Right.

"And Sofia's fine. Apparently, she and most of the other kids down there thought the earthquake was _fun_."

Callie smirked and shook her head. "Typical Sof."

Arizona dimpled. "That's what I said."

Callie smiled back genuinely. After a minute, she offered, "Hey, did you, um, want to try to stick together out there? If we can? There's going to be a lot going on and..." she paused, "It might make things easier."

Arizona nodded in agreement. "I was thinking the same thing."

Callie just looked at her, wondering for a second about whether or not Arizona was dating. Or, more precisely, _who_ she was dating. She felt a familiar pang of jealousy, but she silenced it. There was no reason for her to feel jealous. Their marriage had failed. Callie was over her. Of course she was.

Abruptly, the truck stopped, and a few seconds later, the back doors opened. The doctors deftly stepped out, eager to do their jobs and help the injured.

But as the doctors looked towards the aftermath, their eyes widened. It was worse than they had imagined. They could hear people screaming for help, there were cars on fire, there were people bleeding and stumbling around the middle of the road, and there was little space between each vehicle, keeping most people stuck inside their mangled cars.

"Wow," Callie breathed.

Arizona reached over and squeezed her shoulder briefly. "We can do this. Come on." Fearlessly, she headed towards the center of the commotion, armed with only a backpack full of supplies and a sense of responsibility.

Callie hurried after her.

Arizona yanked open the door of the nearest car. Time was key. They would need to get to as many people in as little time as possible if they wanted to save everyone who still had a chance.

"Are you okay?" Arizona asked the woman in the driver's seat.

The woman remained silent, looking straight ahead.

"Ma'am?" Callie asked gently. "We're doctors, and we're here to help. Are you in any pain?"

The woman finally turned to meet Callie and Arizona's worried eyes. "I was driving home from work. I need to...go home."

Arizona flagged down a paramedic in the distance. "Ma'am, you are going to be just fine. Can you get out of the car? This nice man right here is going to check you out and make sure everything's okay. Okay?"

The woman nodded, and Callie and Arizona allowed the young paramedic to take over. They needed to help those who were actually in dire need of it.

Callie spotted a bloodied woman lying on the hood of a car and began rushing towards her. The car was in surrounded on all sides, so she and Arizona had to climb over other vehicles to get towards it.

Callie found her way towards the woman, quickly checking for a pulse, and Arizona paused in front of the man at the steering wheel. The windshield had shattered completely, which was actually a relief because there was no other way he'd be able to get out otherwise.

"Sir, can you hear me?" Arizona inquired.

"My...wife..." he breathed.

"Are you in any pain?" Arizona asked. "Did you hit your head?"

The man shook his head. "M— m— my wife. We were going out to dinner, and all these cars came out of nowhere."

Arizona inhaled sharply. Those words ran close to home. "Dr. Torres is next to me checking out your wife right now, okay? But I want to know how you are."

"My wife," he breathed again. He was clearly in shock. Arizona could see that he was having a breakdown in his head. He knew the situation wasn't good.

Finally, Arizona risked a look at Callie. She thought she might have a breakdown of her own if the wife was dead.

Callie gave the tiniest shake of her head. No pulse. She was gone.

"Sir," Arizona tried again. "We need to get you out of here. Can you climb through the window, here?"

The man didn't answer. He was catatonic.

Arizona sighed. She looked around her. There was so much chaos.

She heard screaming coming from a car crashed below the overpass. It was a kid.

Callie heard it, too, and her eyes widened at Arizona. "Let's go," she insisted, understanding Arizona's responsibility to go help a kid.

Arizona knit her eyebrows together. "It's okay. You stay and help here. We can split up for a second."

Callie shook her head decisively. "There's no way I'm leaving you on your own. Come on." She began climbing over cars towards the screams, and after a minute of hesitation, Arizona followed.

Together, they ran towards the screams that were coming from a car that was flipped over under the overpass. Someone was trapped inside.

Arizona rushed towards an open window to get a better look. Luckily, the window pane had broken in the crash so Arizona could see inside. In the backseat a young girl continued to scream.

Cars were still driving over the bridge over her head, and Callie swore that she could hear the concrete cracking with each turn of the wheels. She felt her stomach drop. They needed to hurry and get out of there. Fast.

"Hey," Arizona smiled at the preteen girl inside. "Are you okay?"

"No!" the kid cried. "My mom! She was driving, and now she won't answer me!"

"What's your name?" Arizona asked.

"Katie."

"Katie. Okay. I need you to get out of here, okay? Can you take off your seat-belt?"

Katie tried her belt. "No," she cried. "It's stuck!"

Arizona turned to Callie, who had come up beside her. "Can you check on the mom? I'm gonna help Katie get out."

Callie nodded solemnly. "We should hurry."

Arizona smiled for the sake of the girl, who was watching them, but Callie saw the worry in her eyes. "I know."

Arizona found trauma sheers in her backpack to cut off the seatbelt, and she climbed inside the mangled car to help Katie as Callie attempted to open the front driver's side door.

"It's stuck!" Callie called towards Arizona. "I need to get in there!"

Arizona changed her position inside the car to make room for Callie to climb in. "Careful," she warned. "There's broken glass."

Gingerly, Callie stepped inside and angled herself in such a way that she could assess the mom and check for bleeding and a pulse. It looked as if the mom had hit her head on the steering wheel as the car flipped. There was no blood, but there was no breathing or pulse, either. She must have died on impact.

"Is my mom okay?!" Katie screeched from the backseat.

Arizona risked a look at Callie and easily read the grave look in her eyes. Immediately, she knew that the mom was dead.

She took a deep breath. She didn't want to break the poor girl's heart yet. "Katie, Dr. Torres is still assessing her, okay? I need you to stay calm while I finish cutting you out of that thing." She continued cutting the thick seat-belt with bloodied trauma sheers. Poor Katie had gotten sprayed with glass shards during the crash, and she had cuts everywhere. She needed to stay calm.

Callie moved towards them. "What can I do?" she whispered to Arizona.

Arizona shook her head. There wasn't much they could do until they got out of there. "Look for severe bleeding. Make sure we're not missing anything."

Immediately, Callie did just that, and Arizona caught Katie wince in pain at the feel of Callie's hands inspecting her cut up skin.

"Katie," Arizona began, "You stay calm and keep breathing. We've got you. I'm going to get your seatbelt off, and Dr. Torres is going to make sure you don't have any bad injuries. Do you trust us?"

As Arizona soothed the injured girl, Callie looked at Arizona. Arizona's easy ability to connect with patients never failed to leave her in awe. Even now.

Katie nodded in answer. "Yeah, I do."

"Good," Arizona flashed her that signature smile. "Because I'm a pediatric surgeon, and Dr. Torres here is the best doctor I've ever met."

Callie looked at Arizona with curiosity. Could she really mean that?

Still upside down, Katie sniffled. "Really?"

"Yeah, really!" Arizona giggled reassuringly, trying to keep the mood upbeat. "Soon after I met her, she built cartilage_ out of nothing_, and that's not easy to do. And now, she's working on this super awesome robotic leg project." Arizona turned to Callie and offered a slight smile. It felt almost like an apology, and Callie accepted it gratefully, smiling back.

After a minute of silence, Arizona finally announced, "Okay, I've got it." She gingerly pulled the seatbelt off Katie's body. "Can you get out of the car? Be careful."

Callie risked a look outside and saw that a layer of dust had covered the street around them. The overpass above them was coming apart. She nudged Arizona, and Arizona nodded knowingly. "We need to hurry," Arizona whispered quietly in acknowledgement.

They heard a semi-truck drive across the bridge above them, and instantly, they saw another layer of dust rain down over the street outside.

Callie stuck her head out the window briefly and saw that a wide crack had extended from one side of the overpass to the other. She realized that it might collapse. And, from the looks of it, it might collapse _soon_.

"Let's go, Katie," Arizona urged. They needed to get out of there as soon as possible. They needed to get out and far, far away from the crumbling overpass. "Try to switch positions so that you're not upside down and can crawl out."

Just as Arizona said the words, she, Callie, and Katie felt the ground shake beneath them.

An aftershock.

Or, perhaps it was the earthquake itself. It already felt bigger than the previous one.

Katie screamed.

"Cover your head!" Callie shouted, trying to protect the girl with one arm while ducking further into the car and protecting her head with her other.

Without thinking, Arizona moved towards Callie, almost shielding her ex-wife's body with her own. Over the sound of the rumble, she could hear the concrete cracking over their heads.

The overpass was cracking. Breaking. Buckling. Crumbling. Right above the overturned car.

Right above their heads.

They were going to be smothered by pounds of solid rock. Dead as doorknobs.

This was it.

There was nothing they could do. They'd never make it out in time.

"We're going to be okay!" Arizona yelled into the air of fear. She didn't know if she meant it as a reassurance for Katie or for Callie. Maybe, it was for herself.

Because she knew this was the end. They were trapped inside an overturned SUV. It was hardly strong enough to survive the weight of a crumbling overpass.

She prayed that they wouldn't be crushed, but the odds weren't looking good.

Callie also knew that they were going to die the quick and nearly painless death of being crushed. They would be the flattened cold cuts in a sandwich of concrete and asphalt.

And in the last second, the tremor gained force, and that was all it took for the overpass to break and for pounds of broken concrete to collapse on top of the car, They ducked further down as the metal bent at the weight. The glass windows shattered and glass shards were launched towards them. Rubble rolled into the open windows and piled around them. Soon, grey rock was all they could see.

And then the shaking stopped. Just as suddenly as it began. And there was nothing but silence.

* * *

"CALLIE?!" Arizona screeched. "CALLIE? Can you hear me?!"

Callie was in shock. She was dead, right? She had to be.

"CALLIE!" Arizona ducked her head, moving towards Callie and avoiding the new dent of the car around them.

Arizona reached out, putting her hand on Callie's back.

"Can you hear me?!" Arizona shrilled.

Callie nodded, just enough to let Arizona know she'd heard her. She was alive.

"Oh, thank God," Arizona sighed, finally exhaling. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Callie shook her head. She got a grip of her surroundings. The remaining window panes had shattered, and a few dusty rocks were still pouring inside the car, into any open space they could find. She couldn't see anything but hard, grey rock in every direction. Above her, she was sure there was only more.

The car had dented slightly, but it had mostly held up. There was still room to move and sit up. She looked at Arizona. She was alive.

Arizona hadn't shifted her gaze away from Callie's face, and she was now biting her lip in worry. "Callie!" she screeched again. Was she okay?

"I'm," Callie croaked, "Okay." She took a deep breath and tried to pull herself together. She sat up and reached out to squeeze Arizona's hand reassuringly. "I'm fine."

Arizona sighed in relief. "Don't move. You could be in shock. Let me do an exam."

Callie nodded. She _was_ in shock. She was so sure that she was going to die. That they were going to die. She looked up at Arizona as she did a quick head-to-toe exam. "Katie?"

Arizona regretfully looked at Callie. She had checked on Katie first. She shook her head. "It's just you and me."

As Arizona moved to examine her chest, Callie yelped in pain. "What?!" Arizona worried. She pulled back Callie's scrubs to reveal that a glass shard had impaled her chest. She sucked in a worried breath.

Callie looked down and saw it, too. No wonder her chest hurt. There was a glass shard in her chest, close to her heart.

"Great," she sighed. "I'm going to die."

Arizona widened her eyes at her. No. She wasn't going to die. Arizona couldn't live in a world without Callie. She was not ready for her head to be the only place that she exists.

"NO," Arizona insisted, her voice hard and dictatorial. "You are going to be _fine_."

Callie struggled to swallow. "Arizona, it's fine. It's not like they'll ever find us under this mess, anyway.

Arizona looked at her pointedly until Callie finally met her gaze. "We. Are. Going. To be. _Fine_," she promised. "I am going to get us out of here. We are not going to die. You are _not_ going to die." She switched positions, sitting on the inverted carpeted roof a next to Callie, avoiding hitting her head on the upended passenger seat.

With one hand, she reached out and grabbed Callie's hand. At the touch, Callie relaxed slightly, almost letting out a sigh of relief. With the other hand, Arizona took her phone out of her bag and attempted to call 9-1-1, then the hospital. The telephone poles must have been knocked over in the earthquake, though, because her calls wouldn't go through.

"Anything?" Callie asked.

Arizona shook her head.

Between shallow breaths, Callie managed, "We're in a...car...under pounds of rock...with TWO CORPSES...we're going to...die...and Sofia is going...to...be an orphan...and—"

"NO," Arizona insisted. "We're going to get out. I'll make sure we get out. I promise you that."

Callie shook her head in disbelief. Tears stung her eyes. She was going to die. The woman she loved was going to die. She could see the headlines now: "Divorced Lesbian Surgeons Spend Last Moments Together Under Pile of Rubble." It was almost funny, in a macabre_ Romeo and Juliet_ kind of way.

"Callie..." Arizona began worriedly. "Don't cry. We will get out of here." She scooted a few feet away from Callie and shrugged off her coat. After she folded it up to use as a pillow and set it over her legs, she pat her thighs. "Come. Lie down."

Callie knit her eyebrows together. She was wary. Even though she and Arizona had been separated for two years, Callie still felt her body light on fire at the feeling of Arizona's skin. Even now. Touching her wasn't a good idea.

Because Callie still loved her. Of course she did. But their marriage hadn't been working. Arizona had been unhappy and had lost herself. And in trying to save them, Callie had lost herself, too.

Of course Callie still loved her. They had been together for five years, and Arizona was the mother of her child. But Arizona had been unhappy in their marriage. Callie knew that she made the right call to let Arizona go. Arizona was happier now.

Callie didn't make a move towards her.

"Callie!" Arizona insisted. "Please. You need to lie down. And hand me your coat. I need to cut it up and use it to help keep the glass shard in place while putting pressure around the wound. Come." She pat her thighs again, and hesitantly, Callie slowly scooted towards her.

Arizona helped her lie down, and she almost sighed in relief at the feeling of Callie's warmth on her legs. She had missed just being near her.

At the same time, Callie exhaled a long, shaky breath. Arizona was warm.

Arizona smiled down at her. "We're going to be okay. Someone's going to get us out."

Arizona handed Callie the phone so that she could try to call again from her place in Arizona's lap, and Arizona worked on cutting Callie's Grey-Sloan issued coat into usable sections to put around the glass shard.

As much as she wished she could do more, she couldn't. Pulling out the glass would likely only do more damage, and she had no supplies for surgery and certainly shouldn't try with no anesthesia in an overturned car under a pile of rock and rubble.

This was all she could do. "Any luck?" she asked Callie about the calls.

Callie threw the phone down in defeat. "Nothing. We're going to die here."

"We're not going to die," Arizona insisted with so much strength that it stunned Callie a little. "You rest. I'm going to yell. Hopefully someone will hear me." Arizona called for help until her voice turned to a meager croak, and then until she had no voice left.

Callie felt a pinch behind her eyes. "It's okay," she breathed. "We tried." She closed her eyes.

"CALLIE," Arizona barked. No. Callie couldn't pass out. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't die. This was the woman she loved. "Do not close your eyes. Do not die on me."

Callie slowly lifted her eyelids. She reached up and grabbed Arizona's hand. "It's okay. I'm tired, and we're going die here, anyway. No harm in a nap."

"No," Arizona insisted. "Callie! Stay awake. We are not going to die. I'm not going to die, so you don't get to die."

Callie just exhaled slowly in response.

"CALLIE," Arizona continued. "Stay. Awake. We are going to get out of here. _Please_," she begged.

Callie fought back unconsciousness and opened her eyes to look up at Arizona. There were tears in Arizona's eyes, and in Callie's disoriented state, she reached her hand up to brush away the few that had spilled over. "Hey. What's wrong?" she whispered. Her chest felt tight, and not only because of her injury and the blood likely filling her chest cavity.

She hated seeing Arizona cry.

Arizona caught Callie's hand with one of her own and brought her other hand down to run her fingers through Callie's long, thick hair. "You, stay with me," she begged. "I need you not to die. I love you, and we will get out of this. I am not going to let you die, but you better not try to fall asleep on me. You stay. We will get out of this, but in case we don't, I just had to tell you. I love you. I will always love you. I've been _waiting_ for you, and you can't die, okay?"

Callie's eyes widened at Arizona's honest profession. Those had been the last words she'd expected to hear.

"Do you hear me?" Arizona demanded, crying. "_I love you_. And I'm going to make sure that we get out of here alive so that I can prove it to you."

Callie's eyes stung. She didn't know how much she'd been waiting for those words until right then. How much she'd been waiting for Arizona to love herself again and to want to love Callie again. Callie grabbed Arizona by the back of her neck and pulled her face down towards her own.

As Arizona became aware of Callie's intentions, her breath hitched. She'd been waiting to kiss her for so long. She brought her lips to Callie's.

Callie felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. Arizona was the love of her life.

Arizona felt as if her heart might explode. Callie was the only woman she could ever love. Callie was her home.

Regretfully, Arizona pulled away. "We have to keep you calm, remember?" She grinned through her tears. "Don't want to make your heart overwork."

Callie laughed, then she sobered up.

They both did. The reality was: they were still under a pile of rubble in a torn up car. And no one was looking for them.

Arizona kissed Callie's forehead. "Can you move? I have an idea."

Callie nodded slightly, and together, they moved Callie's head off of Arizona's thighs.

"What's your idea?" Callie murmured from her horizontal position. "Be careful," she warned.

Arizona nodded and began stripping off her scrub pants.

"What ar—" Callie began, then stopped. Arizona was removing the Velcro straps of her prosthetic. She was taking it off.

Arizona explained, "I have no voice left, so I can't yell for help, but I do have this. I'm going to bang it against the roof until someone hears it. Metal against metal."

Callie's head bobbed in understanding.

They shared a nervous, meaningful look, and then, with both hands, Arizona smashed her prosthetic against the roof of the car as hard as she could. And, she had been right: it was _loud_.

Callie smiled encouragingly. "Do it again."

Arizona smashed it against the roof, again and again and again, until finally, she and Callie heard voices above them. It felt freeing to use something she had resented for so long— something that came after her life turned upside down and was ruined entirely— to save them.

It felt good.

Callie's eyes bulged. "It worked!"

Arizona sighed in relief and began rubbing Callie's thigh affectionately. "HELP!" she croaked. "We're down here!"

Mere minutes later, she and Callie felt a waft of cold, fresh air hit them. They heard a bulldozer. More voices.

They weren't going to die. They were going to be okay. People had found them.

"You hanging in there?" Arizona worried, turning to Callie.

Callie exhaled loudly. "Still alive," she smiled. "How's the leg?"

Arizona smirked. "A little dented."

Her smile faded slightly as she got lost in Callie's rich chocolate brown eyes, and Callie in turn looked deep into Arizona's cerulean blues.

Arizona moved a hand to caress Callie's cheek intimately. It was something she had wanted to do for a long time.

Callie's breath hitched at the feeling of the soft pads of Arizona's skilled, surgeon fingers against her skin.

"I meant what I said," Arizona reminded her.

Callie's eyes widened, and she gulped. She wanted it so badly that she was afraid to believe it.

"You were right to walk out before. I was stuck, and so were you. But now I've found myself again."

Callie nodded. "Me, too."

Arizona smiled slightly. "I know. So we can _work_ this time. You and me. Forever. Because I love you, Calliope, and I won't stop when we get out of here. I won't ever stop loving you."

Callie smiled, tears once again falling from her eyes. "I—" she began, but then the bulldozer blade lowered and scooped up rocks and rubble for a final time.

Arizona looked up, and could finally see the world outside.

Suddenly, it was chaos. Red and blue lights flashing, construction workers abound, paramedics running towards them, Arizona climbing out, insisting they get a gurney for Callie.

Callie being wheeled towards the paramedic truck, Arizona jogging beside.

Them both hooked up to IVs once they were inside the rig, and the paramedics assessing Callie's condition.

Callie reaching for Arizona's hand, and Arizona gratefully taking it.

"See?" Arizona smiled at Callie amid the hustle and bustle. "You're going to be fine."

Callie smiled back, keeping her eyes focused on only Arizona.

They were going to be fine.

No.

They were going to be _extraordinary_.

* * *

**HEY so I'm sad and really, really want something good to happen, though I'm doubtful it will. SO, I've resolved to writing our girls' reconciliation myself.**

**_If you like it, please let me know_! I wrote this instead of paying attention in class...and doing homework...and sleeping. ;)**

**Either I really, really love you guys, or I'm an awful student. Maybe both.**


	60. Chapter 60

**Set mid-11x22. (CURSE THE TIME JUMP)**

**Callie and Arizona working on a case together.**

* * *

Arizona was charting in the Peds Ward when she got paged down to the ER by an obstetrician.

Quickly, she raced down to the emergency room and then towards the OB and the pregnant woman who was likely her patient.

"What do we got?" she asked Dr. Larson, the OB, as she gloved up.

Dr. Larson continued looking at the screen that showed the ultra-sound, shaking her head. "See for yourself."

On the screen, Arizona saw that the umbilical cord had somehow wrapped itself around the baby's body. The woman would need surgery— fast— or the baby would suffocate.

"I've got this," Arizona assured Larson, who in turn nodded and took off her gloves, backing away from the patient.

"She got knocked over at the Seattle Marathon today, apparently," Dr. Larson explained. "She can't move her arm, so I'll go page Ortho just in case."

Arizona nodded solemnly. She turned to the patient. "How are you doing...?"

"Jen," the patient clenched her teeth together. "Everything hurts. Is the baby okay?"

"Jen. Your baby got a little jostled around when you fell, and the umbilical cord is constricting her heart and lungs. I'm going to need to do surgery to fix it."

"You can fix it, though, right?!" Jen asked desperately.

"Yes," Arizona assured her. "If we hurry."

Callie rolled up her sleeves as she ran towards the patient. Arizona was there.

"Hi," Callie smiled cordially at Arizona as she reached them. "What do we got?"

"Jen here is six months pregnant and was running a marathon when she got knocked over and fell. I need to do surgery on her baby, but I wanted you to make sure that arm was okay first."

Callie nodded, wasting no time before beginning to inspect the arm.

Jen winced in pain before offering, "I didn't even get to run the stupid marathon. I wanted to be in the front, because I run pretty fast, but there were so many people. As soon as it began, everyone was just pushing at each other, and I fell. My center of balance is all out of whack."

"Did you land on your arm?" Callie asked.

"Yeah," Jen nodded. "Ouch."

"Ouch is right," Callie shook her head. "It's shattered. I'm going to need to do surgery."

"Okay."

"Is there anyone we can call for you?" Arizona asked. "Your husband? Boyfriend?"

Jen took an unsteady breath, trying to calm the waves of pain coursing through her. "My...fiance? I guess. He was supposed to do the marathon with me, but he got called to a last-minute business trip." She gave a nurse the number, and Callie and Arizona got ready to take her to an OR.

In the elevator, Arizona tried to distract Jen from the pain while Callie focused on stabilizing her arm. "So, you're engaged? That's exciting."

From the gurney, the patient shrugged. "I guess. We're both teachers at the same high school. We had only been on a few dates when I got pregnant. And he wanted to do the right thing, so he proposed. He's a really nice guy...but still. Marriage is a big deal, right? I don't think he's 'the one,' but I don't know. And there's this baby..."

She continued babbling as Callie and Arizona quickly wheeled her into the OR.

Then, they scrubbed in comfortable silence. So much time had passed since the divorce that, professionally, they were now fulfilled and, personally, they were content enough to be able to get along and work together without much awkwardness.

"I'll be able to temporarily fix her arm pretty quickly, and then I'll get out of your way," Callie offered. "She'll need another surgery in a few weeks most likely, but I can't do it today."

Arizona nodded. "You want to assist me with the baby after?" She glanced up at Callie.

"Seriously?" Callie grinned. "Yeah! I've never seen an intrauterine surgery."

Arizona dimpled back at Callie, surprised by her enthusiasm. "Great!"

They finally made their way into the OR and wasted no time making their respective first incisions: Callie's was a small cut along the arm's radius, and Arizona's cut swept straight across the width of the patient's lower abdomen.

After a period of working in silence, Callie asked, "Has Alex heard from Mer at all recently? Does anyone know if she's okay?"

Arizona shook her head. "Nothing recently. She told him to stop calling, so at this point, he's just hoping she's still okay."

Callie sighed in defeat and continued stabilizing the arm as Arizona prepared to take out the baby and to save her by removing the constrictive cord.

After a while, Callie decisively pushed back in the chair she was sitting in and put her hands up. "Done." She re-gloved and moved to stand beside Arizona. "How can I help?"

Arizona smiled at her. "You get to do the fun part. You hold the baby while I get her free of the cord. Ready?"

Callie bit her bottom lip anxiously and got her hands ready to hold the tiny baby.

Gently, Arizona reached into the patient's exposed uterus and pulled out the baby. Quickly, she handed her to Callie, and Callie steadily held her as Arizona worked to remove the cord.

In minutes, the baby was free of the constricting rope, and Arizona quickly examined her. Surprisingly, she was only a little bruised but otherwise fine.

"Okay," Arizona exhaled loudly, proud of her work so far. "Time to put her back."

Callie's eyes bulged. Theoretically, she knew that had been Arizona's plan— to remove the cord and then put the baby back inside the uterus— but it felt so impossible. Callie was holding a baby in her hands, one who wouldn't even be born for another three months.

"Ready?" Arizona asked Callie.

"Yeah," Callie assured her, almost hesitantly . She was in awe of Arizona. Arizona had just saved an unborn baby, and now she was going to make sure that it would continue to develop fully, as if nothing had even happened.

Arizona took the baby from Callie's hands and carefully positioned her and the cord back inside the mother's uterus before she began the process of sewing her back up.

Callie watched silently, and soon, the only hint that the patient had even been opened up at all was the line of red sutures along her bikini line.

"Get her into recovery," Arizona smiled at the nurses as she backed towards the scrub room and removed her gloves.

Callie followed her inside, taking off her mask and offering Arizona a wide smile. "That was _amazing_."

Arizona grinned back from the sink, deep dimples taking over her cheeks. "Yeah?"

Callie chuckled in wonder. "_Yeah_." She stood beside Arizona at the sink and began washing her hands. "You took a baby out a uterus, you saved her life, then you put her back in! It was incredible."

Arizona just kept smiling. Callie hadn't been supportive of the fellowship when Arizona had first expressed interest in it, but she was grateful that Callie— her ex-wife— could at least see the importance of her work now. Callie's praises about Arizona's professional capabilities had always meant the world to her, and she hadn't heard them much since early in their relationship. Since before they even got married. Then, they had meant everything, and she had missed Callie's professional support in recent years.

It was different now, sure. But still. The kind, supportive words were nice to hear, even now.

Arizona sighed and turned off the water. "Anyway, I should go let her know how the surgery went."

Callie dried her hands. "I'll go with you," she offered.

Together, they walked towards the patient's recovery room, wanting to be able to share the good news when she woke up. When they got there, Jen was already awake and groggy.

"How'd it go?" she croaked. "Is she okay?!"

"She's perfect," Arizona smiled reassuringly. "Now, you just focus on keeping her safe for the next three months. No more crowded marathons," she chided.

Jen nodded guiltily. "Promise."

"Your arm's going to be just fine, too," Callie offered. "You're going to need one more surgery once the bones fuse and heal together, but I can do that in a few weeks."

"Thank you," Jen said to them both.

"Is someone coming to see you?" Arizona asked worriedly. "Is your fiance on his way?"

The patient nodded. "The nurse said he's trying to catch the earliest flight he can." She sighed hesitantly. "I almost wish he wasn't coming."

Callie knit her eyebrows together.

"I don't think I love him, but this baby..." she shrugged. "I don't know what I should do."

Arizona grimaced sympathetically.

"What should I do?" Jen searched both Callie and Arizona's faces, genuinely expecting an answer.

Callie sighed. It wasn't her place. She knew it wasn't her place. But, still, she wanted to help the woman. "I can't say what's right for you, but I'm a firm believer in marrying for love. For passion. You should marry the person you imagine yourself happily waking up next to for the rest of your life. The person you can't imagine living without." She risked a look at Arizona, only then realizing that her ex-wife was right there, and Callie was talking about how she had felt about her at one point.

The situation made her think back to when she had gotten pregnant and Mark had proposed. But unlike this woman, she knew that she didn't want to marry him. She had still been angry at Arizona, but she loved her. She wanted a life with her. She couldn't imagine living without her.

As Callie spoke, Arizona looked at her in puzzlement, surprised by her candid words.

Callie continued, "Marrying this guy might be safe, but love isn't. And love is so, so worth it. You should be with someone who lights your skin on fire with one look. You know?"

Jen delighted at the thought. "Yeah. You're right."

Callie smiled at her. "Yeah I am! Anyway," she cleared her throat, suddenly nervous to see Arizona's face. "We'll let you get some rest."

"Thank you, again," Jen expressed to Arizona.

"It was my pleasure," Arizona insisted, and then she and Callie made their way out the door.

Even in the hallway, neither Callie nor Arizona could look at each other. Because Callie's words had been true. For a long time. And they both knew that.

They had loved each other more than anything, once. And Arizona knew exactly what Callie had meant about her skin lighting on fire with a look alone. She had felt that way when Callie had complimented her after surgery. Just one look at her smiling face...

There was nothing more magical than Callie's smile.

Finally, Callie offered, "Again, good job today. It was an honor to have even gotten to see that."

Arizona's eyes widened. So, they were just going to pretend the entire last interaction hadn't happened? It would be easier, she supposed. She could do that.

Arizona pulled herself together, refocusing on the present. It had been a great surgery, she and Callie had worked well together, and now, Callie had praised her yet again. "Thank you," she paused. Before she continued, she twinkled genuinely, looking meaningfully into Callie's deep brown eyes. "It was fun working with you."

Callie caught sight of Arizona's expression— Arizona's blindingly bright smile— Arizona's adorable dimples— Arizona's slight smirk that was always a little flirty, even if it wasn't purposeful—

and she felt her skin light on fire.

* * *

**YAY so this is A/U because we have not seen ANY flirting or secret pining for each other. Boo. However, I wanted to lay Arizona's Mark and "when you show me that you're in love with ME and not with being in love" insecurities to rest once and for all (as I did in Chapter 51), and I thought this might help with that.**

**Who knows if I achieved it.**

**Anyway, let me know if you liked this! **

**And, I'm curious: What do you think will happen in the finale?! SO EXCITED.**


	61. Chapter 61

**After 9x07. "I got back up."**

* * *

"Yeah, Sof," Arizona cooed at her messy daughter. "Meatballs are yummy, huh?"

From across the table, Callie beamed at them. She was relieved that Arizona had had a good first day back. She felt like her wife was finally coming back to her.

After a minute, Arizona turned her attention back to Callie. "How was _your_ day?"

Callie shrugged. It hadn't been great, but since she'd walked through the door to their apartment, it had gotten exponentially better. Even more so now that she and Arizona were actually having a stress-free conversation. "Boring. I spent all day researching how to fix Derek's hand only for him to say 'let's throw it all out and start over!'"

Arizona raised her eyebrows. "No way. After all that work?"

"Uh huh," Callie nodded helplessly. Then, in an attempt to keep the mood light, she assured Arizona, "We'll figure it out, though."

"Good," Arizona smiled genuinely at Callie, and Callie felt her stomach do somersaults. She had missed that smile so much, and now it was directed right at her.

After a minute, Arizona regretfully broke eye contact. "We should probably get her to bed."

Callie turned her head to look at the oven clock. It was late. "You're right." She paused, smiling at Arizona awkwardly. She didn't know what to do next. Things were better between them now, sure, but Callie still felt like she was walking on eggshells. Arizona was still...so unpredictable. Her mood could change drastically in mere seconds. Finally, Callie offered, "Did you want to...?"

Arizona shook her head. "I'll clean up in here. I'm pretty tired." She offered a small smile. She was trying. Trying to come to terms with her new reality. Trying to become a wife again. Trying to forgive.

Callie mentally kicked herself. Of course Arizona was exhausted. She'd been standing, interacting with coworkers and patients, and walking around the entire day, after months of solitary recovery. And all that with a cane and new prosthetic leg. Callie was surprised she was still functioning at all.

"The dishes can wait 'til morning," Callie assured her. "I'll see you in bed in a few."

Arizona nodded gratefully, and Callie placed a gentle kiss on Arizona's cheek as she moved past her to grab Sofia from her high chair. She hurried to Sofia's room, wanting to give her wife the space she needed to deal with her prosthetic and get ready for bed.

Carefully and methodically, Arizona limped into their bedroom and began getting ready for bed. It had been a good day. Even if she had lost one of her legs, she hadn't lost her ability to be a good surgeon. That was something. For today, that was enough.

Now, if only her back ached a little less. Walking bent over a cane all day had definitely been hard, but it was only then that she realized the toll it was taking on her body.

She quickly changed into pajamas, brushed her teeth, and climbed into bed, ready for the long day to end.

She was flipping through a magazine she had left on her bedside table when Callie walked back in.

Arizona looked up at her, and Callie smiled awkwardly. "Hey."

Arizona was exhausted, but she had still waited up for Callie instead of going directly to sleep. That alone was something. It was progress. It made Callie's heart soar.

Quickly, Callie got ready for bed. When she came out of the bathroom and rejoined Arizona, she noticed her wife wince as rubbed her hand along the back of her neck.

"Are you sore?" Callie sympathized as she sat in bed beside Arizona.

Arizona nodded. "Walking with a cane..."

"It's not easy, I know," Callie smiled sadly. She'd heard how unpleasant it was from many of her patients. It broke her heart that Arizona had to experience that pain, too. That she was still in pain, even months after the plane crash.

Callie sighed uneasily: weighing her options. She decided to take the risk. Even if Arizona rejected her, Callie would at least know that she'd tried to ease her pain. "Lie down for me."

Arizona knit her eyebrows together in confusion.

"Lie on your stomach," Callie smiled pleadingly. "Let me give you a back massage."

Arizona pursed her lips, weighing the request. She and Callie had gotten comfortable with gentle kisses and touches again, but a massage was...intimate. Still, it was a tempting offer. The offer left Arizona craving Callie's strong helping hands.

Finally, Arizona gave the slightest nod and scooted down the bed. She flipped over onto her stomach and closed her eyes.

Callie allowed herself a minute just to look at her. These days, it was rare for Arizona to let her guard down. It was even more rare for her to accept help when Callie offered, and Callie was scared that she might do or say something to make Arizona close herself off again.

Arizona opened her eyes when Callie didn't make a move towards her, catching Callie stare. Normally, it would annoy her or anger her, but the look in Callie's eyes was so tender and loving that she couldn't even manage a small scowl.

Callie inhaled an uneven breath. Arizona had caught her staring. "Move towards the middle of the bed a little."

Arizona complied, and soon enough, Callie moved to sit on her knees and brought her hands down to gently rub Arizona's tense shoulders.

Arizona moaned instantaneously at the sensation, never more grateful for Callie's magical hands. She blushed, embarrassed by her vocality. "Sorry."

At the sound of Arizona's moan, Callie had felt her core clench unconsciously. The last time she had made that kind of sound come out of her...

It had been a while.

Callie chuckled. "Don't be." She began working her hands deeper into the knots, eager to make Arizona feel good.

As Arizona relaxed into Callie's hands and her breathing slowed, Callie altered her position, placing one bent leg on either side of Arizona's hips.

At the feeling of sudden warmth over her, Arizona's eyes shot open.

"Is this okay?" Callie asked carefully. "It gives me a better angle." She gently ghosted her fingers down Arizona's spine.

A thin t-shirt separated their skin, but still, Arizona felt goosebumps line her skin at the feeling. She was in no position to deny Callie's request, and she really didn't want her wife to stop her soft ministrations. "It's okay," Arizona assured her between breaths, closing her eyes again.

"Okay," Callie breathed, lowering her hips to put her weight on Arizona. Now, with better leverage, she pressed her thumbs into the tender skin of Arizona's neck.

"Mmm," Arizona groaned, partially in pleasure and partially in pain.

"Did I hurt you?!" Callie worried. "Too hard?"

"No, Callie, it's perfect," Arizona assured her. "Please don't stop."

"I won't," Callie vowed, armed with a new sense of dedication. She was so thankful that Arizona was finally letting her in.

She moved her hands down Arizona's back, kneading the muscles with strong thumbs.

Arizona moaned as Callie came across a tender spot, and Callie whispered, "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" easing up on the pressure.

Callie's hands stilled as she reached Arizona's lower back. She wanted to move her hands under Arizona's shirt, to feel porcelain skin, but she was scared. Should she ask? Should she hold back?

They had already come this far, though, and Callie felt brave. Ever so slightly, she lifted the bottom of Arizona's shirt to grant herself access, and she ran her fingers over white skin with a feather-like touch.

At the feeling of Callie's hands directly on her skin, Arizona felt her breath hitch.

Callie heard it, too, but she didn't say anything. She only continued her gentle movements, scared that if she stopped, the spell would be broken and Arizona would yell and everything would get bad again.

So Callie continued rubbing soft, supple skin while Arizona consciously attempted to slow her suddenly uneven breathing.

"Arizona..." Callie breathed worriedly, hearing the shift in her wife's breathing. "Do you want me to stop?"

Arizona didn't. That she knew. It was just that she had forgotten the things Callie's hands could do to her skin. To her. The feeling of them against her made her stomach feel bubbly and effervescent and her body light on fire. She felt chills run up her spine. It wasn't about sex. It was about the comfort of her wife.

Arizona hadn't let herself want or miss her wife for so long, and now she was realizing just how much better she felt with Callie's skin touching hers.

"I'm— I'm good," Arizona promised. "This feels good."

Under Arizona's shirt, Callie slowly brought her hands up to reassuringly massage Arizona's shoulders. "It's just you and me here," Callie soothed, lowering her body slightly to whisper the words into Arizona's ear. "It's just me."

She gently dropped her lips onto a pajama-clad shoulder, placing a sweet kiss as her hands continued rubbing soft skin.

Arizona shivered.

"You're safe here," Callie promised, kissing the opposite shoulder. "Just let go."

Unbeknownst to Arizona, those words had been just what she needed to hear. She exhaled a long breath and allowed herself to get lost in the feeling of Callie's hands on her skin.

As Arizona relaxed, so did Callie. She relished in the feeling of Arizona's warm skin, enjoying being able to make her wife feel good until, finally, her hands were too tired to continue.

Regretfully, she extracted herself from Arizona and shifted to lie beside her. She lied much closer than she would usually, not wanting the magical night to end just yet.

She turned onto her side to face her wife, only to find that Arizona was already facing her, staring.

The slightest drowsy smile grazed Arizona's lips. Her eyelids were drooping, but her eyes were looking at Callie with genuine love. "That was amazing," she offered gratefully. "Thank you."

Callie all but grinned. Her heart felt like it might explode in her chest. They were going to be okay. Tonight had proven that. "Anytime. Seriously, I'd be happy to every night if you'll let me."

Arizona raised her eyebrows at Callie's candid comment, and Callie blushed. Great. She was the crazy woman who wanted to touch her wife at any cost.

Finally, Arizona laughed slightly. "That'd be a hard offer to refuse. Maybe again tomorrow night?" she asked vulnerably.

Callie nodded, smiling easily. "I'd love to."

Arizona didn't answer, and for a minute, neither woman knew what else to say. They wanted to stay in the beautiful moment for as long as they could.

They wanted more, but they were both scared to initiate more.

Finally, Arizona sighed and proposed, "We should probably sleep." She rolled onto her back to face the ceiling.

Dejectedly, Callie agreed, "Yeah..." She had wanted more. She had gotten her hopes up. That Arizona would have given her something. Something more. She followed Arizona's lead and rolled onto her back. She couldn't hold back the frustrated huff that escaped her lips.

From beside Callie, Arizona fearfully peeped, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Callie sighed. She pulled the comforter up to her neck.

But, Arizona couldn't fall asleep.

Neither could Callie.

After a minute, Arizona found herself searching for Callie's hand under their blankets. She needed that connection. She needed Callie to know that she was still there. That she was coming back. That she was still in this.

She edged her hand closer to Callie, finally making contact with her hand and intertwining their fingers.

She heard Callie's pillowcase rustle, and she opened her eyes to find Callie looking at her. Her eyes were filled with more love and commitment than Arizona deserved these days. She knew that.

"Goodnight," Callie whispered again, except this time, she said it with such tenderness that it was clear that she really meant "I love you, I've missed you, and I'll be here forever."

Arizona squeezed her hand. "Goodnight."

In Arizona's simple response, Callie was sure she heard, "I love you, and I've missed you, too."

* * *

**Hope you like this! If you do, please let me know! My last chapter had, like, four-thousand views, but only four people bothered to review it. :( (which is totally fine, but you should know that nice reviews totally and 100% make my day hehe)**

**Hope everyone's good. Can't wait for the finale this Thursday! What do you think will happen?!**


	62. Chapter 62

**A/U. Callie and Arizona 11x24.**

* * *

"Thank you...so much...for staying with me...through all this," April managed to articulate between sobs.

"Of course," Arizona whispered somberly as she soothingly rubbed her friend's forearm. She was heartbroken to see April in her situation. It was one she knew too well.

Arizona was not only familiar with the idea of a spouse calling it quits, but she was also aware of the pain April felt knowing she'd hurt the person she loved most. Like April, Arizona had failed to see the toll her own trauma had taken on her wife. She'd been so caught up with what the plane crash took from her that she couldn't see what it had taken from Callie.

She couldn't see all that Callie had sacrificed. For her. Just as Jackson had for April.

Callie had not only lost Mark, but she also lost Arizona for a long time. Arizona knew that now. She became someone her wife couldn't so much as recognize. Someone cold.

Someone who could cheat on the person she loved most.

Callie had sacrificed everything for her. Arizona knew that now. She knew it for certain when Alex told her that, in fact, he had been the one to cut off her leg.

When Callie admitted that she wanted Arizona to have somebody. Even if she wished it could have been her.

If Arizona lost a leg, then Callie had, too. Arizona knew that now. Both she and April had realized how, in the process of their personal recovery, they had disregarded the people they loved most.

Arizona refocused on her friend. "What can I do? Do you want a ride home? Do you want to stay at Alex's with me?"

April shook her head, tilting it back to ward off more tears. "No. I'll be fine," she finally brought her watery eyes to meet Arizona's wary ones. "Really," she sniffled. "I just need to go home and think."

"Okay," Arizona whispered gently, squeezing her hand before releasing it. The pair stood up and gathered their things.

"Are you going to the reception?" April asked.

Arizona made a face. "That doesn't sound like much fun right now. It's been a long day, huh?"

"Oh, please go," April urged. "I didn't mean to bring you down..."

"No, April, you didn't," Arizona assured her.

As they walked side by side towards their respective cars in the parking lot, April offered, "You should go. Have some fun. For the both of us." She tried to laugh, but it came out as a sob.

Arizona sighed. She wished she could give her friend some comfort. But there was nothing she could do. "Okay," she finally promised. "I'll go. Let me know if you need anything, though."

"Thank you," April sniffled, wrapping her arms around her friend.

Arizona hugged her back, and then finally, April got into her car to go home and face a tough decision. And Arizona got into her car to go to a wedding party and face her ex-wife.

Today had been the first wedding she'd been to without Callie. As wonderful as it had been to see the Chief promise himself to Catherine forever, it also stung a little.

Once upon a time, she and Callie had promised each other the very same thing.

* * *

When Arizona walked through the open door and into Meredith's house, her mood instantly lifted. All around her, her friends and coworkers were joyously dancing and laughing with one another. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Callie, gyrating to the beat beside Owen. Arizona couldn't help but smile at the sight, and not just at Owen's lack of coordination, but also at Callie. Just Callie. Entirely in her element. Looking really, truly happy for the first time in a long while.

As Arizona sat down beside Jackson, she discreetly watched her ex-wife move. Callie had always loved dancing, and she was good at it. She and Arizona used to go out dancing a lot before the plane crash. They had danced together on one of their first dates. They had had a blast dancing at their wedding.

Arizona hadn't danced in over three years. Not since the amputation. But, tonight, she found that she wanted to dance again. She wanted to dance with _Callie_ again.

"Where's April?" Jackson asked gruffly, pulling Arizona out of her thoughts.

"She went home," Arizona smiled softly. She understood Jackson's position as well as she did April's. As much as she loved April, she knew that Jackson had a point. The situation was heartbreaking from all angles.

"Great," Jackson sighed in exasperation. "I'm not sure I want to go home." He downed the rest of his scotch then got up to refill it. "Thanks," he offered, and despite his anger at April, Arizona could tell that he truly meant it.

Arizona turned her head and noticed that Alex and Jo had come in. She waved them over.

* * *

As Callie turned and danced her way towards Meredith, she noticed Arizona sitting at a table, chatting with Alex and Jo. She looked happy. Really, truly happy, and Callie was happy _for_ her. Sure, she still wished with all of her heart that her ex-wife could have been happy with her, but she had come to terms with the fact that Arizona didn't want her anymore. By the end, Callie knew in her heart that Arizona had stayed out of habit rather than love, and Callie knew she made the right call with the divorce. It was the best thing for them both. Arizona deserved to feel free. She deserved to be happy, even if it wasn't with Callie.

Still, Callie couldn't help but note that the last time she had danced at a wedding reception it had been at her own. And she had been dancing with Arizona: the person she had promised forever to. Callie knew that those days were far behind her, but she couldn't help but feel sorrowful about the idea that it was the last time she'd ever dance with Arizona. Their last time dancing together had been at their wedding.

The fast-paced song she had been dancing to came to an end, and Callie sat down at a table to rest for a minute before she jumped back in. As she reached for her glass of champagne, another song began.

Within the first second, Callie immediately recognized it. It was her and Arizona's song. It was the first song they had danced to on their wedding day. She stiffened and subconsciously looked towards Arizona, trying to gauge whether or not her ex-wife remembered.

She had.

Arizona was very obviously staring at Callie, her ex-wife's expression mirroring her own: eyes wide, mouth agape, fear, longing, and nostalgia evident.

Before Callie could hurriedly turn her gaze away, Arizona got up from her chair, excusing herself from her conversation with Jo, and began making her way towards Callie.

Callie's eyes bulged. _What was Arizona doing?_

A minute later, Arizona was standing in front of Callie. Her heart was beating in her ears. She felt the heat from Callie's body radiating towards her, even from two feet away.

Callie felt her heart take off in her chest. Her mouth went dry. She could feel the palms of her hands sweating, and she hurriedly wiped them on her dress.

Arizona smiled timidly, and offered Callie her hand.

Callie furrowed her brows in confusion. Arizona couldn't mean...

"Dance with me?" Arizona tilted her head shyly and smiled dazzlingly.

It made Callie's heart melt. Even now.

As far as Callie knew, Arizona hadn't so much as danced since the plane crash. She hadn't felt like she could. But, now, she wanted to, and with Callie of all people. She had changed. She had gotten better. That was clear.

And Callie knew that it wasn't a good idea to dance with her ex-wife, especially not to _their song_. It would just bring up old feelings. But looking at Arizona's face, seeing her hopeful smile...

Callie couldn't deny her. Callie didn't want to.

Shaking, Callie reached out and took Arizona's hand. She felt her skin ignite.

Relieved, Arizona grinned at her, then led them out towards the center of the dance floor.

Arizona turned to face Callie. She hadn't thought this far ahead. She didn't know where to put her hands. Finally, she brought her hot hands to Callie's waist, bracing for her ex-wife to pull away and run for the hills.

She didn't. Callie only flinched slightly at the intimate touch and released the breath she had been unconsciously holding. It was almost like a sigh of relief.

Gingerly, Callie followed Arizona's lead, placing a steadying hand on her hip and the other on her shoulder. As they began to sway as one, she looked down and carefully met her ex-wife's eyes.

Against her better judgment, Arizona allowed herself to get lost in Callie's deep brown eyes. She couldn't see anything else. Only Callie. She swallowed nervously. She licked her dry lips. Callie was so close. Closer than she'd been to Arizona in a long, long time. She could almost hear her nervous heartbeat. She wondered if Callie could, too.

Callie saw nothing other than the blue eyes she'd once fallen in love with. Everything else...drifted away. Unconsciously, she tightened her hold on Arizona, pulling her in closer as they continued to sway to the steady rhythm of their song.

Finally, Callie cleared her throat. "You're dancing again." She wondered if Arizona had been going to the bars they had used to go to together. She wondered if Arizona had been dancing with other women. The thought gave her a stomachache, and she mashed the feelings of jealousy down. She had no reason to be jealous. She was being ridiculous. This didn't mean anything.

Arizona looked down at her feet, laughing slightly. "I guess I am. It's the first time since..."

Relieved, Callie smiled, thankful to know that her ex hadn't been dancing with other people and also proud of how far she had come, even now.

Arizona brought her eyes back up to meet Callie's. God, she was beautiful. Really, truly, heart-stoppingly beautiful. Without thinking, she pulled their bodies flush together, unable to control her desire to be near Callie.

This time, Callie didn't flinch in surprise. She welcomed Arizona's form against hers, molding into her. Their bodies had always fit together perfectly. She ran her fingers along a smooth white shoulder, and Arizona's breath caught in her throat. She moved her hands over Callie's lower back, and the taller woman shuddered.

As the song began to fade out, Arizona felt her nervousness reappear. Regretfully, she pulled away from Callie, but she kept her hands on her.

Usually, Callie liked to have more of a sense of control, but tonight, she was rendered silent. She felt her stomach do somersaults, and she didn't know why. She and Arizona had separated nearly two years ago. There was no reason her ex-wife should have made her feel this way. Not anymore.

Arizona cleared her throat. "Can we talk?"

Callie's eyes widened. No good ever came from those words. She couldn't listen to what Arizona had to say. She didn't want to pop the bubble. She needed an excuse to get the hell out of there. Finally, she shifted, hitching a thumb behind her shoulder and towards the door. "I should probably—"

"Callie," Arizona pleaded. She pursed her lips. She looked more vulnerable than she had in years. Callie couldn't stand the thought of hurting her. Even now.

Hesitantly, Callie nodded. "Okay."

Callie followed Arizona outside onto the deck. While it had been crowded earlier, it was then empty. Guests had either gone inside to drink, dance, or escape the cold.

The cold was a welcome relief to Callie and Arizona, though. The skin-to-skin contact after so long, as well as the nerves, left their bodies feeling like they were lit on fire.

Arizona sat down on the wooden bench and motioned for Callie to sit beside her.

Callie sat. "Arizona..." she began, "What's this about?"

Arizona released a shaky breath. "I owe you an apology."

"No," Callie assured her, not wanting to open that can of worms. Not wanting to face all those feeling again. "You don't—"

Arizona pleaded with Callie with her eyes, stopping her ex-wife in her tracks.

Callie felt her heartbeat speed up in anticipation. She turned her body towards Arizona, preparing herself.

Now that Callie was actually willing to listen, Arizona wasn't sure where to begin. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to grab a hold of her emotions. She didn't want to fall apart. Finally, she offered, "You lost a leg, too."

Callie knitted her eyebrows together. "What?"

Arizona sighed. "After the plane crash, I lost my leg, and for a while, I lost myself. It took something from me. Something I'll never get back." She closed her eyes briefly, warding off tears. She needed to get through this. "But it took something from you, too," she looked up and met Callie's surprised eyes.

Callie gulped audibly.

"I couldn't see that. I was so consumed with my pain that I couldn't see how the crash hurt you." She paused. "How _I _hurt you."

Callie felt her breathing become labored and unsteady. She had ached for an honest apology for so long, for Arizona to understand, but after the plane crash, her wife had been unable or unwilling to. Until now.

"Callie," Arizona implored, her voice clear, "I am so, so sorry for hurting you so much. I'm sorry I didn't see _how_ you were hurt by factors outside of our control. What I lost in the plane crash..." she shook her head, thinking of all it had taken from her. "You lost just as much."

Callie nodded gently. It had cost her— them— in ways she still couldn't even begin to understand.

"You lost Mark. And you lost me."

Callie kept looking at Arizona evenly. Her words were true.

Arizona shook her head, deep in thought. "I was wrong." She looked deep into Callie's eyes, hopeless as her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. "I was wrong, Callie."

Callie wanted to reach out and comfort Arizona, but she knew Arizona wouldn't want that. Callie had always been acutely aware of her ex-wife's physical space: she knew when to cross it and when to keep out. From Arizona's current disposition, she knew not to cross it. Not now.

Instead, Callie only looked at her with concern in her eyes. _What was she talking about? Wrong about what?_

"I didn't think you loved me. Not...the way I loved you. Not after you cut off my leg."

"Arizona..." Callie began in desperation. She was tired of hearing about how she broke her promise. It was the right thing to do. Saving Arizona's life was the right thing to do, and Callie would never regret the decision she made. Even now.

"No," Arizona clarified. "Because you didn't cut it off. Alex did. But I thought..." she paused, "I couldn't wrap my head around how you could..."

Callie's mouth hung open in shock. _That was what it had been about? The act of cutting off her leg?_

Arizona brought her hands up to wipe her eyes. She wouldn't cry. She needed to get through this. "I didn't think you loved me, but you did." She looked deeply into Callie's sympathetic eyes. "You did."

Callie looked into Arizona's eyes and blinked once, slowly, indicating it was true.

"You sacrificed everything for me to be okay. You saved my life, knowing that I would hate you, and you protected Alex, knowing that I would hate you more. You knew the potential cost, but you wanted me to be okay, no matter what. With or without you."

"Yes," Callie affirmed softly, her voice barely audible.

"I hurt you so much, and I'm so sorry, Callie. You were the love of my life, and after I thought that you amputated...I thought that there was no way I could have been yours."

"You were," Callie breathed, so quietly that Arizona wasn't sure if she heard correctly. She cleared her throat, speaking more loudly this time. "You were."

Arizona nodded, just the tiniest bit. She knew that now. "And I know you think I wanted out during therapy, and maybe, for a second, I did. You were still so angry, and I didn't feel like enough. You had reason to be angry, though. I cheated on you, and it's the worst thing I've ever done. It's the worst thing I'll ever do."

"Yeah," Callie agreed. "It probably is."

Arizona nodded, accepting the fact that Callie had yet to forgive her. That she probably never would. "I'm sorry."

"I know. And I forgive you."

Arizona's eyes widened in surprise. "You..."

"I forgive you. It was the wrong thing to do, but it felt right for you at the time, when nothing else did. I know."

Arizona put her face into her hands. She was so immensely relieved to hear Callie say those words. She used to think that she never deserved to hear them, but she had come to terms with what she'd done. She was ready to move forward, and she was glad that Callie could move forward, too.

"Anyway," Arizona continued, wanting to be completely honest with Callie, "I know you thought I was choosing work over our family— over our baby— but I wasn't. I didn't only do the fellowship for me." She paused. "I did it for you."

Again, Callie felt her breathing quicken at this new piece of information. She held up a hand. "Wait..."

Arizona sighed. "Let me finish. Then you can talk."

Callie nodded, conceding.

"I couldn't take another loss after the miscarriage. But, I thought that with a surrogate, if there were something wrong with the baby..." she paused. "I wanted to be able to fix it. If I had to. I wanted to be ready for anything."

Callie's eyes widened in surprise. _Why hadn't Arizona told her_? This changed everything. She hadn't thought...

"I wanted another baby with you," Arizona offered meekly. Her voice got impossibly smaller as she admitted, "I still do."

Callie inhaled sharply, unable to quell the swell of joy gathering in her chest over Arizona's words. She knew that there was no reason why they should make her feel hopeful or happy. The two of them still weren't together.

"I hurt you before," Arizona reiterated. "And you hurt me. We both loved each other, and we both lost ourselves." A tear rolled down her cheek, and this time, Callie couldn't stand to see Arizona cry. She reached out and grabbed Arizona's hand, intertwining their fingers.

Between sniffles, Arizona continued, "And even though a lot of our past is painful, I still want to be with you. I want a future with you."

Callie gripped Arizona's hand more tightly, holding onto it for dear life. Holding onto this dream, to Arizona, who as it turned out, was _in it_ as much as Callie was. Even two years later.

"Calliope," Arizona continued, "I want to fight with you, and cry with you, and grow old with you. I want to love you. I want it all with you: the good, the bad, and the ugly. I am in love with you, and I always will be. I want another fifty years to prove it t—"

Just as Arizona finished her last thought, Callie's hands moved to delicately cup her cheeks and, before she realized what was happening, her ex-wife pressed their soft lips together, needing to feel Arizona. Needing to touch the woman she loved.

At the passionate but somehow gentle kiss, Callie and Arizona felt their skin light on fire and their hearts repair for the first time since Callie walked away on that awful day.

Finally, they pull away from one another, their hands never leaving the other's skin.

"Callie...?" Arizona prompted. She needed some sort of verbal response. She had just poured her heart out. She was not the kind of person who allowed herself to vulnerable, but she had, anyway, because this was Callie.

Callie was worth it.

When Callie didn't answer, only continued staring into Arizona's waiting eyes, Arizona brought her shaking hands up to wipe the darker woman's tears away. "You're crying."

Callie laughed, still crying. "Yeah, I am." She tucked a lock of hair behind Arizona's ear. "I don't want to live without you. Ever again."

At last, a smile overtook Arizona's face. She allowed herself to breathe again as Callie continued.

"I love you, and I'll love you forever. I want to be able to show you, forever."

Arizona brought her lips back up to Callie's, pouring all her love into one kiss. Pouring everything she had into the person who knew her more intimately than anyone else. The person who loved her unconditionally.

And Callie reciprocated. Happily. She had tried so hard to stop loving Arizona, but she couldn't. She'd tried for two years to no avail. She realized now that, maybe, she wasn't supposed to stop loving Arizona. She was never supposed to stop loving her. They were meant to be together.

"I love you," Callie promised. "More than anything."

Arizona enveloped Callie's soft hand in both of hers. "I know," she smiled, overcome with joy and a sense of freedom now that Callie knew it all. "And I love you."

She stood up, wanting to go back inside to the warm house filled with their friends, and Callie followed before she quickly pulled Arizona's hand back and pulled the woman she loved into her. As they molded to each other, their bodies pressed tightly together, they released a breath. It was a breath that they felt like they had been holding since the divorce. It was as if, together, they could finally breathe again.

They were home at last.


	63. Chapter 63

**Set the night after 9x07. Please read Chapter 61 first!**

* * *

"Hey, you ready to go?" Callie asked as she came up behind Arizona in the attendings' lounge.

"Yeah," Arizona smiled, grabbing her bag with one hand and her cane with the other. "Let's go get our girl."

Together, Callie and Arizona slowly made their way downstairs, picked up Sofia, and began the short trek home. While Arizona used to hold Sofia, swinging the giggling baby in her arms, she couldn't anymore. Not yet. She was trying to be okay with that.

Even though their apartment was only a block away from the hospital, Callie could tell that Arizona was wearing out. Her pace became increasingly slow, and her limp became more apparent with each step.

Callie threw a strong arm around Arizona's back, hoping to somehow help hold her up, and gratefully, Arizona leaned into her.

"You still want that massage later?" Callie whispered.

Arizona moaned aloud at the thought alone. "Please."

Callie chuckled. "Kay. Let's get home."

After making and eating dinner, eating dinner, getting Sofia ready for bed, and finally, putting her to bed, Callie and Arizona finally made their way towards their bedroom, exhausted.

Callie locked herself in their bathroom, wanting to give Arizona the privacy she needed to change into pajamas and remove her prosthetic. Even though they were now sleeping in the same bed again and touching comfortably, Arizona was still self-conscious about her leg and body. And, as much as Callie knew that she had no reason to be, she wanted to give her wife space.

Slowly, Arizona was coming back to her. She just needed to be patient.

Hesitantly, Callie knocked on the bathroom door. "Are you good?"

"Hold on," Arizona articulated quickly.

Callie waited.

After a minute, Arizona offered, "Yeah. Come on out."

Callie opened the door, and she and Arizona shared an awkward smile as Callie carefully walked over to her side of the bed and sat down. She turned to Arizona. "So," she began, "How was your second day back?"

Arizona shrugged, smiling easily. "It was good. I'm glad to be back. To be...useful again. Talking to kids, doing surgery...it feels good."

Callie smiled back, happy to hear Arizona peak so positively. It was hard, but she was coming back. "Good. That's good."

They took a minute to just look at each other, almost in comfortable silence.

Finally, Callie patted the center of the bed, suggesting, "Come here. Let me give you that massage."

As Arizona gingerly scooted closer to Callie, she asked, "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Positive," Callie promised. She shifted her body so that her knees were on either side of Arizona's hips, giving her good leverage and a good angle. Just the night before, she had been hesitant to touch her wife so intimately. But today, she easily positioned herself over Arizona.

"Is this okay?" Callie asked warily, just to make sure.

"Yeah," Arizona sighed, relaxing deeper into the soft bed. She craned her neck to meet Callie's eyes. "Thanks for doing this, Callie."

Callie lowered her body to chastely kiss Arizona's cheek. "Like I said, I'm happy to."

Arizona sighed contently at the gentle kiss, and Callie began gently kneading her shoulders with strong hands.

At the touch, Arizona moaned involuntarily, urging Callie on.

Callie moved her hands down Arizona's spine, massaging Arizona's strong, slim back with care. Trying to pour all her love into her hands. Hoping her wife would feel it. She worked her hands down to Arizona's lower back, where slowly, she eased her hands under her shirt and began rubbing smooth, porcelain skin.

Arizona let out a shaky breath at the feeling of Callie's skin directly on her. She reveled in the sensation. She had missed it.

She wanted more.

"Get up for a minute," she whispered to Callie.

"Did I—" Callie agonized, "Did I push too far? I can stop. I don't have to—" she began rambling anxiously.

"No, Callie," Arizona interrupted lovingly, turning as much as she could to face Callie. "I just want to take off my shirt. Give you more room."

"Oh," Callie understood. She quickly moved her body, sitting beside Arizona. She felt her stomach dip at the idea of Arizona, completely topless. Her mouth watered.

When Callie noticed that Arizona was sitting up, unmoving, staring at her, she realized that _she_ must have been staring at Arizona, making her uncomfortable. "I'll, um," she stuttered, "I'm going to go get some lotion from the bathroom."

Arizona nodded, and when Callie finally turned away, she untangled herself from her shirt and shifted to lie on her stomach again, obscuring her more intimate parts from view.

"I got lotion!" Callie smiled nervously as she moved over Arizona again.

"Mmm," Arizona acknowledged, closing her eyes.

As Callie rubbed her hands together, warming the lotion, she allowed herself a minute to admire her wife's beautiful back. She hadn't seen it since...since before. It was still perfect, though. Small freckles dusted her shoulders, and she still had a tiny scar from when Callie had dug the nail of her index finger into her skin a little too hard while on the verge of one of her many earth-shattering orgasms. At the time, she had been distressed to have made a then laughing Arizona bleed during sex, but now it almost pleased her that she had left a mark on Arizona's otherwise blemish-free skin.

Callie moved her hands over Arizona's shoulders, the back of her neck, down her spine and ribcage, coating her skin with the sweet-scented moisturizer. She rubbed her fingers along every inch of her wife's back, wanting to loosen every tight muscle she could. When she brought her hands up to knead the tender skin at the nape of the blonde's neck, Arizona groaned in pleasure.

"Mmm, Callie," she moaned in satisfaction. "That feels so good."

Unbeknownst to her, Callie grinned, happy to hear about the effect her hands were having on her wife, and even happier to hear the praise. It gave her the push she needed to continue, as she courageously ran her hands over Arizona's arms and then down her back, listening to her wife's somehow erotic slow breathing.

Arizona cleared her throat slightly, offering, "We both get off of work at five tomorrow, so I was thinking we could maybe cook a nice dinner?"

Callie's hands continued to glide easily up the length of Arizona's back. "Yeah!" she smiled, "Sounds fun."

Arizona sighed somberly. "I know Mark and I used to cook together, but I thought," she shrugged slightly, "I thought we could make his favorite chicken recipe. In his honor or something."

Callie's hands slowed at the mention of Mark. She felt a lump in her throat. "Y—Yeah," she agreed. "That sounds great." She leaned down and brushed her lips against Arizona's shoulder.

At the feeling of hot breath against her skin, Arizona opened her eyes and was met with the most beautiful shade of brown she'd ever seen. Callie's eyes were magical.

"Thank you," Callie whispered gratefully.

Arizona nodded as the smallest of smiles graced her lips.

Bravely, Callie continued peppering the skin of Arizona's upper back with kisses as her thumbs rubbed along her naked ribcage. As thick hair tickled Arizona's shoulders, she shivered at the feeling of the three sensations.

"Callie..." Arizona breathed, as she felt her body warm and the pit of her stomach begin to tingle.

"Mm?" Callie asked against Arizona's skin, sending vibrations through her. "You good?" she asked, not stopping her ministrations.

"Yeah," Arizona exhaled— nearly moaned— in approval. "More than good."

Callie smiled against her skin. "Good. Just relax."

Callie continued pleasuring in the feel of Arizona's soft skin, and Arizona continued delighting in the feel of Callie, until after a few minutes, Callie felt Arizona's hand on her thigh.

Callie stiffened.

Arizona turned slightly to face her. "Don't worry," she smiled reassuringly. "Lay down next to me."

Hesitantly, Callie obliged.

Arizona shifted, turning from her back to her side to face Callie. She made sure to cover herself with their thick blankets, not ready for her wife to see her half-naked and vulnerable just yet.

Callie, also on her side, eyed Arizona warily. She found herself feeling nervous about what her wife would say or do next.

"Can you, um," Arizona began nervously, pursing her lips in fear. "Can you take of your shirt, too?"

Callie raised her eyebrows in surprise before nodding in compliance. "Yeah." She sat up and worked to take off her pajama top, oblivious to Arizona's eyes tracking her every move. She shifted back down and pulled the blankets over herself, looking at Arizona expectantly.

Ever so slowly, Arizona moved her body towards Callie's, wanting to kiss her, thank her somehow. She paused, her face inches from Callie's, only listening to her wife's unsteady breathing. They were so close.

Callie felt herself panic slightly as Arizona edged towards her. They were closer and more naked than they had been in months. She wondered what her wife would do next.

Arizona brought a shaky hand up to Callie's face, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear.

Callie melted at the touch, her heart taking off in her chest.

Arizona smiled at her, and she looked like herself. She looked like the Arizona Callie knew and recognized. Not like the mutant half-monster she'd come to know after the plane crash. Arizona smiled, and she looked like the woman Callie loved.

Arizona gingerly brought her lips to her wife's, and they shared a sweet, lingering kiss. As Arizona brought herself closer to kiss Callie once again, their breasts rubbed together, just the slighest bit. Callie thought that she might combust, feeling Arizona's hot skin against her.

As Arizona pulled away, she whispered, "Turn around."

Even in ignorance of why, Callie eagerly obliged. She trusted Arizona. She was willing to do anything she wanted. She turned to her other side, facing away from Arizona.

"It's my turn to give you a massage," Callie heard the smile in Arizona's voice. "You just relax."

Slowly, she brought her hands up to Callie's skin, gently tracing patterns with the soft pads of her fingers. She had missed the feeling of Callie's hot skin, and she wanted to enjoy it again.

Callie let out a shaky breath at the feeling of Arizona's hands on her back, and her breaths became deep and long as she approached sleep. With Arizona close, touching her, she felt safer than she had in months.

Arizona contented in running her fingers along Callie's smooth, caramel skin. For what felt like hours, she allowed herself to reacquaint herself to the skin she had once memorized. She relearned every curve, every vertebrae, every muscle in front of her.

With Callie close, lying beside her, she felt safer than she had in months.

She felt like herself again.

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading! As always, reviews are much appreciated. Yay! **

**Happy Hiatus, btw! (Well, maybe not so happy.)**

**If anyone has any speculations about what might happen next season, I'd love to hear what you think!**


	64. Chapter 64

**Post 8x09. (Sofia's with Mark.)**

* * *

Callie was sitting on the couch in the attendings' lounge with her face in her hands. It had been a long, seemingly endless shift.

Avery had done a spinal surgery the day before, and as it turned out, one of the pedicle screws had torn a hole in the woman's heart. It had been partially Callie's fault for not double checking his work, and she had to be the one to tell the patient's terrified husband what had happened. She was angry at incompetent Avery, but she was even angrier at herself.

Enduring the rest of her shift had been practically unbearable. Finally, it was 8 p.m., and she just wanted to go home.

She didn't look up until the felt the couch dip. She looked up to meet concerned blue eyes.

"Hey," Arizona whispered gently. "You okay?"

Callie inhaled a shaky breath, trying to put the last twenty four hours behind her. "Yeah."

Arizona brought her hand the her wife's back, rubbing it soothingly. "It's been a long day, I know." After a minute, she stood up and held her hand out for Callie to take. "Come on. Let me take you home."

Callie smiled softly and grabbed her wife's waiting hand, standing up. Together, they walked out the door of the hospital and began making their way home.

Arizona slung her arm around Callie's waist and Callie quickly reciprocated, pulling the shorter woman into her side.

Arizona looked up at her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Stoically, Callie shook her head. "If I talk about it, I might scream."

Arizona squeezed her hip reassuringly. "Tell me anyway. I'll scream with you."

Callie laughed dryly, lowering her head to look at Arizona's waiting smile. "Fine," she conceded, grinning. She quickly pecked Arizona's lips before looking ahead and continuing walking. She sighed. "I oversaw Jackson do a spinal fusion a few days ago, and one of the pedicle screws he inserted turned out to be stabbing the patient in the heart."

"Wow," Arizona worried.

"Uh huh. Teddy said her left ventricle looked like hamburger meat. God! How could I have let it happen?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Arizona soothed, stopping and facing Callie. "You know it wasn't your fault. You're his teacher, and he learned something from this."

Callie shook her head. "I should have been watching him more closely. I should have—"

"You did your job," Arizona assured her.

Callie regretfully met her eyes. "Not well enough. I wasn't paying attention."

Arizona rubbed her arm sympathetically. "Then you learned something, too. Is she going to be okay?"

"Yeah," Callie nodded. "She's not totally out of the woods, but it's looking good."

"Good," Arizona smiled. "So don't beat yourself up about it."

Callie exhaled a long sigh of relief, just taking in the magical, miracle woman standing in front of her. "Fiiiiine. Thank you."

The two women fell back into step as they continued making their way to the apartment.

"Oh, hey!" Callie blurted. "Is Karev okay? I heard about the crash."

"He's good. He was in shock earlier, I think, and being super weird, but I made him take a breather. Hopefully by tomorrow he'll be back to normal."

"Good. That's good."

The second they walked through their apartment door, Callie exhaustedly plopped down on a bar stool and Arizona headed straight for the fridge. "We have...leftover potatoes and grilled vegetables, some slimy salad, and half a cold pizza?" She looked to Callie, wondering what she was in a mood for.

Callie just leveled a knowing look at her.

"Cold pizza," Arizona confirmed. She laughed. "I should've known."

They ate silently, enjoying each other's company and processing the events of the endless day. Callie leaned her elbow on the counter and rested her chin in her hand, happily gazing at Arizona.

"What?" Arizona asked self-consciously, noticing Callie's eyes fixed on her.

"Nothing," Callie smiled. "You're just amazing."

Arizona laughed humbly, blushing. She leaned towards Callie, kissing her sweetly. As she pulled away, she countered Callie's statement, insisting, "_We're_ amazing."

Callie smirked, then yawned unwittingly. "As much as I want to take advantage of the fact that Mark has Sof tonight, I'm exhausted." She stood up to throw away the pizza box. "How do you feel about going to bed early?"

"Mmm," Arizona flirted, imagining the warmth of Callie's body wrapped around hers. "No complaints here," she agreed. "I feel like I haven't slept in a year."

"Right!" Callie laughed.

Callie and Arizona wasted no time getting ready for bed: putting on baggy old t-shirts, washing off fading makeup, brushing their teeth, and finally, falling into bed.

Callie exhaled a long contented breath as she finally laid down in their warm, comforting bed. She slung her arm over her eyes, and Arizona cuddled into her side.

"I know Jackson's supposedly good with plastics and all," Callie began, "But, man. He almost killed that woman."

Arizona silently and mindlessly traced patterns over Callie's abdomen, letting her wife process through the day's events.

"You forget how clueless residents are, you know? Like, at home, we take care of an actual baby, and at work, we're stuck taking care of baby surgeons."

Arizona murmured something in agreement, then began peppering Callie's neck and jaw with soft kisses, making her way towards pink lips.

When Arizona's lips met hers, Callie hummed in approval.

Arizona smiled into the kiss. She rolled on top of Callie and looked into her eyes from mere inches away. "You're right," she agreed. She pointedly leaned towards Callie for a lingering kiss. When she pulled away, her pupils had dilated, making her cerulean eyes look navy. But, despite her lust, her words were still soft and careful, knowing that Callie hadn't had an easy day. She looked into big brown eyes, and she felt her soul connect to Callie's in a way that it couldn't with anyone else in the world.

She caressed Callie's cheek with her thumb, leaning down to kiss her once more. Finally, she whispered, "You took care of other people all day. Now, how about you let me take care of you?"

Callie's smile overtook her face, sighing happily, as her heart took off in her chest. She fell more and more in love with this incredible woman with every passing day. After a minute of staring at Arizona in complete wonderment, her smile turned to a wanton grin as she pulled Arizona's face to her own and crashed their lips together.

Even though Callie and Arizona had been exhausted before, their tiredness faded in that moment.

Callie showed Arizona how much she loved her, and Arizona took care of Callie.

All night long.

* * *

**Sorry for any mistakes! It's two a.m., and I'm way too lazy to proofread! Hope you like it. **

**As always, reviews are welcomed! They're, like, my favorite thing! :)**

**Thanks for reading.**

**ETA: Oh, and you should follow my tumblr! It's: mermaidsocks**


	65. Chapter 65

**Between 9x06 and 9x07.**

* * *

As they ate dinner in silence, Callie stole a look at Arizona. Things between them had— slowly but surely— begun getting better. Slowly but surely, the woman Callie loved was coming back to her.

She cleared her throat. "Did you want to do something after dinner?" she asked shyly. "I was thinking I could maybe open a bottle of wine."

Arizona looked up and met her eyes. She smiled softly, and Callie felt her heart take off in her chest. "Sure."

"Okay. Cool," Callie responded awkwardly. She cursed herself for sounding so weird, but she couldn't help it. She was constantly terrified of saying or doing the wrong thing.

Finally, after several more minutes of silence, Callie cleared her throat. "I'm gonna go put her to bed," she offered, nodding at Sofia. "I'll meet you on the couch in a few?"

Arizona simply nodded, and Callie smiled as she picked up Sofia and began walking towards her room. As she passed Arizona, Callie reached out to run quick fingers through blonde hair or ghost her fingers across her shoulder, but she stopped herself. Before the plane crash, she would have reached out and touched her without thinking. They always used to touch each other at every opportunity, somehow feeling more safe and at home while reveling in the other's warmth. But now, things were different. Arizona didn't seem as if she wanted Callie to cross into her space, and Callie was scared to try.

So, Callie quickly lowered her hand and continued walking towards Sofia's room.

As Callie ducked into Sofia's room, Arizona busied herself choosing a bottle of red wine and carefully carried it over to the coffee table. She then turned back to get wine glasses, being unable to carry everything while also maneuvering her crutches. She sighed as she felt a sense of hopelessness well up in her. It was just one more thing she could no longer do.

Finally, she settled into the couch, covering her legs with a blanket in an attempt to forget that one was no longer there. She poured a generous amount of wine into each class, and she felt a strange unease. She didn't know what to talk to Callie about anymore. She didn't know _how_ to talk to Callie. She wanted to, she did, but she felt like she couldn't control her anger. She was explosive. She couldn't even recognize herself some days, but she was beginning to. She'd share a cordial moment with Callie or think about surgery and feel like herself again. The moments were rare, but they were there.

"Hey," Callie smiled nervously, moving to sit on the opposite end of the couch.

Arizona handed her a glass of wine.

"Mm. Thank you," Callie nodded gratefully. She took a nervous sip, feeling Arizona's waiting eyes fixed on her. "How, um. How was your day?"

Arizona shrugged. "Just great," she responded sarcastically. She winced. She was trying. She softened her voice. "It was pretty boring."

Callie nodded. Carefully, she asked, "Are you still thinking about coming back to work in a few weeks?"

Arizona's mood lifted at the thought. After helping Bailey with a case a few days before, she had realized how much she missed being a doctor. She was eager to get that part of her life back. "Yeah," she almost smiled, and Callie felt a pinch behind her eyes in pride. "Hunt said to just let him know when I'm ready."

"Good," Callie grinned, suddenly hopeful. "Karev's missed you."

Arizona smirked in agreement, and then her eyes darkened. Thinking about Alex just made her think about going to Boise, and that just made her think about all that the plane crash had resulted in: no Lexie, no Mark, and no leg.

"What?" Callie worried, setting down her wine glass.

Arizona closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to ward off memories of that awful forest. Of coughing up blood. Of screaming in pain. Of her mangled leg. She felt her eyes well up with hot tears. "Nothing."

Callie looked deep into blue, bloodshot eyes, trying to understand. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to help, but she didn't know how. She wanted to know what Arizona was thinking. "Arizona..." Callie breathed, her tone pleading. "What's _wrong_?"

Arizona just shook her head, unable or unwilling to answer. She refused to think. She refused to cry. She couldn't let Callie actually see her _feel_. Or hurt. Because then, Callie would wrap her arms around her and the dam would finally break.

It scared Arizona how much she ached for Callie. Because she didn't want to.

She was still so mad.

She wanted to be strong. She couldn't let Callie in. She wanted to, but...she couldn't. She closed her eyes, trying to gather her thoughts. She had to answer, and she had to do so without completely falling apart. "Nothing," she insisted, her voice hard and decisive.

Callie sighed, exasperated. "Fine."

Arizona nodded. "Fine." But as angry as she was, as closed off as she seemed, her body was still angled towards Callie's. And Callie, as hopeless as she felt, hadn't given up. Even from the very opposite end of the couch, she was leaning towards Arizona as much as she could. Her palms were up, as if she were waiting for something to fall into them: a gentle word, a smile, a _sign_.

A hand one day. Maybe.

Suddenly overcome with nervousness, Callie looked down at her hands. "I don't know what to do, Arizona. I'm trying, but I don't know what to say to you. I don't know how to help."

Arizona exhaled heavily, her stomach suddenly tying into knots.

Callie's watery eyes carefully met hers. "I don't know what you want from me. Do you want more apologies? I'm sorry. I'm sorry you're living a life you didn't want because of me. I'm sorry I broke my promise." Her voice rose in desperation with every word.

To Callie's surprise, Arizona's eyes remained fixed on her. Arizona could see that her wife was in pain, and she knew that was her fault. That hurt her more than anything. But as much as she wished she could reach out and comfort Callie or offer a kind word, she couldn't. She felt stuck.

Callie forced herself to calm down. "I'm sorry that I had to break my promise, Arizona. I'm not sorry for saving your life, but I'm sorry it had to be like this. I know you wish I hadn't done it, but I don't. I am glad that you're alive, okay? Even like this."

Before Arizona could stop it, a sob wracked her fragile frame. She buried her face in her hands, trying to obscure her face from Callie. From the world. It wasn't fair. To have gone through this. To be in so much pain. To be loved so much. Not now.

Seeing how much pain her wife was in, Callie felt sick. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around Arizona and hold her. She wanted to protect her forever. She had never felt such an itch to touch someone until right in that moment. Her hands were shaking with how much she wanted, and needed, to feel Arizona's warm skin. It took all the strength she had to fight the urge, because she couldn't act on it. Arizona didn't want Callie's hands anywhere near her, and Callie knew that.

She had felt Arizona recoil at even the lightest touches during the past few months. There was no way that she would ever welcome Callie's strong arms. Not now.

Callie finally resolved to sit near her— as close as she could without their legs brushing. "Arizona," Callie all but begged, her hands hovering in midair.

Unwittingly, Arizona looked up to see Callie beside her. She swallowed loudly, refusing to give into more tears. "I'm," she sniffled, her voice breaking, "Fine."

Callie sighed. "You're anything but fine."

Arizona laughed darkly, and it came out as a sob. Callie was right about that.

Callie opened her mouth to say something, then quickly closed it, shaking her head quickly to stop herself.

Arizona stared at her, almost curiously. Waiting.

Callie exhaled a shaky breath. "Do you want me to apologize again?"

Silently, Arizona shook her head.

"Do you want me to go to Mark's and leave you alone?"

Again, Arizona shook her head.

"What do you need?"

Arizona shrugged. She didn't know what she needed. She just knew that she didn't want to feel like this. She didn't want to feel alone, and Callie being there helped that. Just a little. She cleared her throat. "I don't know."

Callie sighed, her eyes imploring Arizona's face. She couldn't read her. She didn't know what to do.

Arizona knit her eyebrows together thoughtfully. Meekly, she allowed herself to sympathize with Callie for the first time that night. "What do _you_ need?"

Callie sucked in an uneven breath, shuddering at the sudden care in her wife's voice. She began to shake her head, insisting, "I'm f—"

"Callie," Arizona stopped her, her voice gentle.

Callie widened her eyes at Arizona, suddenly afraid of what she might say.

"You can tell me," Arizona assured her. "I'm still your wife."

Callie's breathing came haggard. She was so relieved to hear Arizona admit that.

Again, Arizona implored, "What do _you_ need?"

Callie hesitated before answering. She tried to slow her breathing, but her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. She swallowed nervously. "I need— I need to be touching you."

Arizona's eyebrows raised in surprise, and she unconsciously leaned away from Callie.

Callie looked at her pleadingly. "Arizona, it's all I want. Just to hold you."

Arizona shivered. The idea of Callie's arms around her terrified her. But it was also the only thing she could think of that might make her feel better. And that was even more terrifying.

Callie waited, making no move towards the blonde. She didn't want to push her.

Arizona closed her eyes, working to take long, deep breaths, hoping to slow her overworking heart.

After another minute of silence, Callie sighed. "Just forget about it. I'm sorry."

"No," Arizona argued simply, opening her eyes. "Wait."

Callie waited.

In a tiny voice, Arizona confessed, "I'm scared."

"What are you scared of?"

Carefully, Arizona met her eyes. "Of trusting you again. Of falling apart."

Callie pursed her lips. Why did this have to hurt so much? "I'm scared, too."

Arizona looked at her questioningly, waiting.

"I'm scared we'll never be the same," Callie worried.

Arizona nodded once. "Me, too."

"But the only thing that makes me less scared is thinking about holding you." Callie felt her eyes water at her honesty.

"Okay," Arizona breathed.

"'Okay'?" Callie questioned, unsure of what Arizona meant.

Arizona felt as if her skin was vibrating. "Okay, come here. I want to hold you, too."

Callie exhaled, her posture changing as she finally relaxed. Gently, she wrapped her arms around Arizona, pulling her into her chest.

After a second, Arizona brought her arms up to wrap around Callie's back. She exhaled a sigh of relief, finally allowing herself to feel safe and home and _whole_ in Callie's arms.

As Arizona reciprocated the hug, Callie released a sigh of relief. She finally felt safe and complete with Arizona in her arms, and with Arizona's arms wrapped around her.

They clung to each other, and Callie inhaled the scent of Arizona's hair as Arizona inhaled the smell of Callie's sweet-scented skin.

"Thank you," Callie whispered.

Arizona pulled away for a second to meet Callie's eyes. "I needed this, too."

Callie smiled, and Arizona smiled back as she leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Callie's surprised lips.

She leaned back into Callie, and Callie happily wrapped her arms back around her. They reveled in each other's warmth contently, neither feeling the need to speak. Tonight, in this moment, they knew that everything would be okay. One day.

Callie yawned. "I just want to stay like this forever."

Arizona smiled against Callie's chest. "I was thinking the same thing."

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**Thanks for reading! If you liked it, please let me know! If you have any constructive criticism, I also welcome that.**

**I love actually having a sort of conversation with you guys as opposed to just me writing and seeing the views chart get bigger and bigger, so please talk to me!**

**If you're interested, btw, my tumblr is: MERMAIDSOCKS. :)**

**Hope everyone's doing well! **


	66. Chapter 66

**Mid 6x16.**

* * *

As Arizona skated across the hallway, she spotted Bailey standing about twenty feet away, staring at the OR board.

"Dr. Bailey," Arizona flashed her signature smile. "Just the girl I was looking for."

Bailey eyed Arizona dubiously. "Wwwhhhyyy?" she enunciated carefully.

Arizona continued smiling, unfazed. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Uh..." Bailey began.

Arizona waved her off. "Doesn't matter. A bunch of us are going out with Teddy, getting to know her a little, and you should come! Maybe we'll go bowling or dancing. It's gonna be _super_ fun."

Bailey made a face, but she was flattered that the Peds surgeon had invited her. She respected Arizona as a doctor and person; she was professional and kind.

Arizona placed a friendly hand on the shorter woman's arm. "Meet in the lobby at eight, okay?"

Bailey nodded and shrugged, feeding off of Arizona's seemingly infinite enthusiasm."Oh-kay!"

"Yay!" Arizona grinned, and with that, she wheeled away.

* * *

**I was listening to old Grey's podcasts a few days ago, I heard Betsy Beers (I think?) talking about how weird it was that Bailey had ended up going out and playing baseball with the rest of the girls that night. And she said something like "I can just imagine Arizona persistently inviting her, making sure she was included, etc..." so I decided to write it! Super short, but hey. It is a Missing Moment. ;)**


	67. Chapter 67

**Set in the future. Callie and Arizona are back together. Yay!**

* * *

"Hey Alex, hey Maggie," Arizona greeted as she set down her tray at their table in the cafeteria. Since spending last Christmas Eve together, Arizona had begun to like Maggie. She was kind and funny, and she was a good friend to Alex.

"Hi Arizona," Maggie smiled.

Alex offered a half-hearted head-nod towards his mentor.

"How are you?" Maggie asked conversationally. She was known for being polite.

"Great," Arizona chirped gleefully. And it was true. Since she and Callie had gotten back together, things had been great. "How have you been?" As she and Maggie continued to exchange pleasantries and Alex bit into his hamburger, Arizona waved towards someone behind Maggie.

Before Maggie could turn around to look at who Arizona was waving at, Callie noisily sat down beside her. "Is it just me, or is today the longest day _ever_?"

Alex looked up, catching Arizona smiling admiringly at her.

"I hear ya," Maggie sighed. "Apparently everyone's hearts decided to stop working today, but my hands are tied until UNOS calls and gives my patients organs."

Ignoring Maggie, Alex suggested to Callie and Arizona, "You guys should come with us to Joe's tonight. Maggie said she's buying."

"I did not!" Maggie shrilled, swatting his arm in annoyance.

"OW!"

Callie looked on at their exchange, trying to gauge whether or not something was going on between them. She usually could read people well, and Alex and Maggie were sweet together.

Arizona just smirked at her friends, bringing a baby carrot towards her lips.

Suddenly, Maggie stopped her assault on Alex as her skin flushed in embarrassment. She looked between Callie and Arizona. "I didn't— I didn't mean— I mean, if you want, of course I'll buy a round. It's just—"

Callie laughed, reaching out and rubbing Maggie's arm reassuringly. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to buy anyone drinks."

Maggie sighed, embarrassed by her awkwardness.

Alex snickered.

"Well that sounds fun," Arizona began, "But I can't tonight." Maggie could have sworn she saw the blonde wink at Callie. That couldn't be. They were divorced. They were separated. Right?

"Why? Hot date?" Alex asked.

Callie sipped on her soda, averting her eyes. She and Arizona were back together, but they hadn't told anyone yet. They wanted to be _sure_ before telling people— even before telling their friends.

Arizona's eyes widened as she tried to think of how to respond. "No, I, uh..." She wracked her brain for an excuse. "I have dance lessons tonight. Salsa!"

At that, Callie choked on her drink, and she was suddenly coughing as Coke dribbled down her chin. Years before, she remembered Bailey saying those exact words to get out of a ladies night with Teddy; it had been a euphemism for sex then, and it definitely was a euphemism for sex now. She felt her stomach bubble happily at the thought. Sex with Arizona lately had been good. Really good. Better than it ever had been.

She continued coughing, trying to catch her breath as she wiped the soda that was now on her scrub top.

"Callie?!" Maggie worried, reaching towards the brunette. "Are you okay?"

Callie put up a hand. "I'm," she coughed, "Good." She looked towards Arizona, shaking her head at the blonde's antics. Callie loved that woman, but god, she was mischievous.

Arizona smirked at her conspiratorially, trying to suppress her laughter.

Alex sat back in his chair, crossing his arms knowingly. "You're going salsa dancing?" he asked Arizona.

"Mmm-hmm," Arizona nodded, finally tearing her gaze away from Callie. "I have a long-standing salsa appointment," she insisted unconvincingly.

"I didn't know you liked to dance," Maggie exclaimed obliviously. In truth, she was impressed that Arizona still could and liked to dance after the loss of her leg.

"Love it," Arizona lied.

"Oh," Callie grinned wickedly, "She _really_ loves it."

Suddenly, everyone at the table heard the sound of a pager going off, and Callie looked down at hers. "Crap," she lamented. "I've gotta go. I'll see you guys later?"

Maggie and Arizona nodded in understanding, and Alex offered a little wave. "See ya."

Callie picked up her tray and headed out the double doors, but not before she stooped by Arizona's chair. Just quiet enough for Arizona to hear, she whispered, "Can't wait to show you my moves tonight."

Arizona stiffened as a chill ran up her spine in anticipation. She blushed visibly.

Callie quickly straightened, and seeing the effect she was having on the blonde, she cackled as she walked away. "See you guys later," she called jovially over her shoulder.

"I," Arizona began, struggling to compose herself. Her pupils had dilated. She could not wait for her date with Callie tonight— and she especially couldn't wait for the "salsa appointment" that would surely follow. "I should probably go. Patients," she explained, hurrying after Callie. There were no rules against beginning their fun a little early. After all, dancers needed to warm up.

Alex grinned knowingly at his mentor as she walked away, and Maggie just gawked at the interaction she had just seen.

In all her time at Grey-Sloan, she had only ever seen Callie and Arizona fighting and screaming at each other or ignoring each other all together. "What _was_ that?" she finally asked Alex, needing an explanation.

Alex shifted his eyes away from Arizona's retreating form and turned to Maggie. "_That_," he explained, smiling, "Was Callie and Arizona."

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**Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!**

**P.S. If you're interested, I just started a fic where I hope to include a bunch of one-shots where Callie and AZ get back together. Just something fun to do during this hiatus. You can find it on my profile, and I hope to add to it this weekend.**


	68. Chapter 68

**I know I posted this last night, but a lot of people said I should continue, SO I DID. Reuploaded :)**

**Set sometime after 11x24. Getting to the bottom of Arizona's cheating. Or trying to, anyway!**

* * *

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Callie asked of her coworkers as she stormed into the ER.

When she got to the patient's bedside, Meredith explained, "Someone saw her jump from the Sheraton Seattle Hotel downtown. Lots of broken bones and internal bleeding. We've gotta get in there."

"Wait," Callie stopped Meredith from moving the gurney towards the elevator as the words sunk in. "She jumped?"

Meredith nodded solemnly. "Looks like it. A nurse is calling the husband now. You ready to go fix the damage?"

Callie nodded, feeling sorry for the poor woman. "Let's go."

The damage the woman had obtained through hitting hard cement with such force was severe, and most surgeons likely would have been unable to save her. Luckily, Callie and Meredith were not "most surgeons"; they were better.

There was still the possibility of complications, but for now, she was alive. That was no small feat.

"Should we go look for the husband?" Meredith prompted as they scrubbed out.

"Yeah," Callie sighed. "He'll want to know what to expect from her recovery with that many broken bones."

Together, Callie and Meredith headed towards the waiting room, and towards the man a nurse pointed out to be the husband.

As they walked towards him, the man stood up, suddenly on edge. "Jen," he began, "Is she okay?"

Meredith calmly replied, "She had some extensive internal injuries, but Dr. Torres and I got the bleeding under control."

He sat back down in his chair, relieved. He put his head in his hands."This is all my fault."

Callie sat in the chair beside him. In an attempt to console the poor man, she insisted, "You can't blame yourself. She clearly needs some psychological help, but none of this is your fault."

"It is!" the man insisted. "Why do you think she was at the hotel? We're from Seattle."

Callie and Meredith looked at each other questioningly.

"It's my fault!" the man repeated. "She followed me there. I— I said I was going on a business trip, but I really went to the hotel. I went to meet a woman..."

Meredith felt her eyes bulge, and Callie felt her blood turn to ice. "Wait...you cheated on her? You think that's why she jumped off the building?"

The man nodded, ashamed. "I'm just so glad she's okay. I need to see her."

Callie stood up. "Oh no. You don't get to see her."

"Callie—" Meredith began.

"NO!" Callie shouted. "He's the reason she's almost dead! He's the reason she kept coding on our table!" She turned to the man, her tone cold. "You can't see her."

"Please!" the man begged. "I need to see her! I love her!"

"NO!" Callie exploded. "You didn't love her, because you don't destroy the person that you love!"

"Wh—" he began, confused by the doctor's sudden outburst. He looked around to see that everyone— nurses, doctors, loved ones— had stopped what they were doing and were staring at them.

Callie looked around, too, suddenly embarrassed and ashamed. "I've gotta go," she muttered to Meredith then quickly stomped away. She needed to go somewhere far, far away. What had gotten into her?

Meredith widened her eyes, not really sure what to do. "Um," she paused, "Sir, why don't you sit tight. We'll get a nurse to find out if your wife wants to see you when she wakes up. I've gotta go." Quickly, she followed Callie's trajectory, searching for her vehement friend. Where had Callie gone? And what had brought _that_ on?

Finally, after scouring the attendings' lounge and all nearby on-call rooms, Meredith spotted Callie pacing agitatedly in the empty hallway that Meredith had spent so much time her intern year.

"Callie," Meredith began as she walked towards her. " What happened back there?"

"Nothing," Callie shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "Really, Meredith. Don't worry about it."

Meredith huffed quietly and sat down on an empty gurney. In the darkness, she looked at Callie. "This isn't about our patient."

Callie finally stopped pacing and turned to meet Meredith's eyes. "Of course it's about our patient! Her husband slept with someone else and it nearly destroyed her. If someone had called 9-1-1 five minutes later, she would be dead now. She still might die!"

As gently as she could, Meredith insisted, "_This_ is about Arizona."

Callie's head shot up in surprise. "No, it's not."

"It is. Think about it."

Callie stilled, not breathing. She worked to take a deep breath.

Meredith was right. She had been projecting. She plopped down beside her friend on the gurney, sighing in exhaustion. "You're right."

"She cheated on you."

Callie attempted to swallow the lump in her throat. Hearing the words said aloud never got any easier, even after being divorced for two years. "Yeah."

The two women were silent for a few minutes as Callie worked through her thoughts. "I just don't see how you can do that to the person you love. How you can say you love someone and then cheat on them."

After a pause, Meredith confessed, "Derek cheated on me."

"_What_?" Callie asked, shocked. "With the woman who answered his phone? I thought—"

"He didn't sleep with her," Meredith quickly assured her. "But she kissed him, and for a second, he kissed her back."

"Wow," Callie shook her head, processing. Meredith and Derek had been her fairytale, aspirational couple up until Shepherd's death. What did it mean if Derek had cheated on Meredith? What did it mean about love? What did it mean for her?

Finally, she maintained, "That's different. He didn't _have sex_ with her. He came home. He loved you."

"You're right," Meredith conceded. "It's different. But while Derek hadn't had a year of tough losses, Arizona did. You both did. That's a big difference."

"Yeah," Callie sighed.

"You never forgave her." It wasn't a question.

"How could I?" Callie met Meredith's eyes as tears welled up in her own.

"I don't know," Meredith admitted truthfully. "Cristina forgave Owen."

"_What_? Owen cheated? When?"

Meredith gave a slight nod. She knew she shouldn't betray her best friend's trust, but Cristina had been Callie's friend, too. And it was clear that Callie needed some perspective if she ever wanted to move past this. It had been three years, and Arizona's cheating still caused Callie pain.

"She hurt him, and he wanted to hurt her back."

"Wow," Callie could not believe what she was hearing. She thought that it had just been her. That there was something wrong with _her_. That something about her made it easy for the people she married to sleep with other people. But it wasn't just her.

After a minute, Callie locked eyes with Meredith in realization. "After she lost her leg— after I made the call— you think she wanted to hurt me back?"

Meredith shrugged helplessly. "You'd have to ask her. You deserve some answers, so you should ask her."

* * *

Callie had resolved to do just that. She was going to demand answers from Arizona. She was going to find out why her ex-wife had betrayed her.

When they were still married, Arizona had apologized profusely, and Callie had claimed to have forgiven her; she realized now, however, that she hadn't. If she had, she wouldn't have screamed at her patient's husband, and she wouldn't still have tears in her eyes.

She marched towards the Peds floor. When she got there, she spotted Arizona and Alex in the NICU, bent over a tiny baby.

Callie hesitated in the doorway, and Alex, having sensed a shift in the air, turned towards her.

"Hey, Torres," he greeted his friend,

At that, Arizona turned around. She looked at Callie questioningly, trying to read her ex-wife's strange expression.

Callie cleared her throat. "Can I steal Arizona for a minute?"

Wide-eyed, Alex met Arizona's eyes. Was everything okay?

"You got this Alex?" Arizona asked her fellow. Her voice wavered with nervousness.

"Yeah, I'm good here," Alex assured her.

Hesitantly, Arizona walked towards Callie. "Is everything okay?" she asked softly.

"Fine, yeah," Callie answered, in a way that made it clear to Arizona that everything was far from being fine.

Callie began walking down the hallway, and surprisingly, Arizona followed. "Callie..." Arizona began, anxious.

Before she could continue, Callie opened the door to an on-call room and walked inside.

Arizona followed. Her stomach ached.

"Shut the door," Callie commanded.

Arizona did. She felt her heart speed up. "Callie..."

Callie swallowed audibly. This was it. The moment of truth. "Why did you cheat on me?" she asked directly.

Arizona noticeably stiffened, as she always did when the topic of her cheating came up.

Callie crossed her arms. Then uncrossed them. She looked into Arizona's shocked eyes, suddenly terrified of what she might say. She wanted the truth as much as she didn't. Her moment of strength had faded, and meekly, she asked, "Did you do it to hurt me?"

"Wh—" Arizona began. She tried to gather her thoughts. Why was Callie asking her this, after all this time?

Callie began pacing anxiously. "You were so angry after the plane crash. You were angry at Alex, you were angry at Nick, and you _hated_ me. But I thought we got past it. I thought we were good! And then you cheated."

Arizona sucked in a breath. Callie hadn't said so many words to her since the divorce. Now, Arizona wished she would say anything but this. Arizona couldn't talk about it. She couldn't think about it. She couldn't understand it. Even now.

"Did you do it to hurt me back? I hurt you by breaking my promise, and you hurt me by breaking your vows?" her voice rose in desperation. She wished, more than anything, that the words weren't true. But the more she thought about it all, the more likely it seemed that they were.

Arizona exhaled a shaky breath. She didn't know where to begin. That wasn't it. She never wanted to hurt Callie. Ever.

She loved her; she wanted desperately to protect her from pain.

At least, that's what she did up until the plane crash.

"Tell me," Callie insisted, her voice hard. "You owe me that."

"I didn't do it to hurt you," Arizona admitted softly.

"Why then?!" Callie asked. "How could you think of me, and _have sex_ with someone else?!"

"I wasn't thinking of you!" Arizona admitted impulsively. "I didn't think—"

"Of course you weren't thinking of me!" Callie shook her head, contradicting herself. She bit back tears. She had been right. "I knew you didn't love me."

"_I loved you more than anything_!" Arizona shouted, the dam breaking.

Callie just looked at her as tears streamed down porcelain skin. "No," Callie argued. She couldn't believe it. Arizona couldn't have loved her. You don't destroy the people you love."NO," Callie repeated, more loudly. "If you loved me, you wouldn't have hurt me. You wouldn't hurt someone who loved you so much."

Arizona shook her head. "I didn't think you did."

Callie looked at her in disbelief. "Arizona, of course I loved you. I was your _wife_."

Arizona scoffed. "Exactly."

Callie's anger began to abate slightly, and mere curiosity took over. What the hell was Arizona talking about? She remained still, challenging her ex-wife to explain further.

Arizona sighed, running nervous fingers through blonde hair. "My leg," Arizona explained curtly. "You were my wife."

Callie threw her hands up in exasperation, thinking she understood Arizona's words. "Yeah, I was your wife and your doctor. And I saved your life!" She was tired of this fight. She was tired of apologizing for saving Arizona. The only other option was inconceivable.

It made Callie sick to even consider a world without Arizona. She had been Callie's wife: the love of her life.

"NO!" Arizona countered. Callie wasn't understanding.

Callie huffed, trying to calm down. She attempted to slow her breathing.

"I thought you cut it off."

"Yeah," Callie enunciated sarcastically, rolling her eyes at Arizona's ridiculousness. Obviously they had cut it off; Arizona was well aware of that fact. "You already know we—"

"Callie, I thought _you_ cut it off," Arizona repeated deliberately.

Callie closed her mouth as the words sunk in.

"I didn't think I would hurt you so much," Arizona lamented softly. "I loved you," her words were hard. Decisive. "More than anything." She sighed, and her voice got quiet. "I didn't think that you felt the same."

Callie gulped at the honest words and looked into sorrowful cerulean eyes. As much as it pained her to admit it, in that moment, she felt sorry for Arizona. She felt the deep, deep pain Arizona must have been harboring since the plane crash until fairly recently.

Arizona hadn't thought Callie loved her. And as ridiculous as that seemed in Callie's mind, she understood. Hearing Arizona, she understood. How could you love someone— more than anything— and be the one who handicapped them? Who took a bone saw and hacked off a part of them?

Sure, it was crazy for Arizona to think that Callie had done the surgery; that was against so many hospital rules and regulations. But Arizona hadn't been able to think clearly during that time. She had just spent four awful days in a cold forest and was on the brink of death.

Implausibility aside, Callie understood. She finally understood how the woman she had loved could have betrayed her. It was all such a damn misunderstanding.

Arizona pursed her lips in defeat. "I'm so sorry, Callie," she cried, unabashedly now, as hot tears streamed down her face. "You only wanted to protect me, and I slept with someone else."

Callie's breathing came labored at finally hearing a genuine apology and as she finally understood. It wasn't her fault. Not really. She had done what she thought was best: she had acted as the villain so that Arizona could have _someone_. She had done it because she loved her.

But Arizona had loved her, too. She no longer blamed her. And the blonde hadn't had sex with Boswell to hurt her. It was something that shouldn't have happened but did.

Only it was too late to take back.

"I didn't think you loved me," Arizona continued. "After you..." she paused as the emotion became too much.

In another world, in another time, Callie would have reached out to comfort her. She still wanted to.

Arizona continued, "After I thought you... I— I didn't think you loved me. Not as much as I loved you. So I didn't think I would hurt you so much."

Her voice barely audible, Callie breathed, "You did." She had.

Arizona looked into Callie's eyes unwaveringly. Callie saw the shame and regret that filled Arizona's blues.

"I know," Arizona admitted. "I know."

Callie nodded. They were at an impasse. What was left to say?

"I thought you cut it off," Arizona reiterated.

"I didn't."

Arizona nodded.

"I would have never been able to," Callie professed. It was true. "I loved _you_ more than anything. I loved you like you loved me."

"I'm sorry," Arizona peeped. Her regret was so strong that it nearly suffocated her. She had loved Callie more than anything. She still did.

Callie nodded slowly. Finally, she could see that Arizona _was_ sorry. She hadn't been before. Not when she thought Callie had cut off her leg. Not when she thought Callie hadn't loved her.

But, now, she was sorry. Callie could see that.

Arizona had loved her. Still, it wasn't enough.

"I know we're divorced and I don't have any say, but would just—" she looked up at the ceiling, shaking her head. She knew she sounded ridiculous, but she continued. "Would you just— keep it out of the hospital? I know I have no right, and I know it's not of my business, but I'm tired of seeing you with other women. I can't. Yet," she choked out.

Arizona's eyebrows furrowed in surprise and concern. "Callie, I—"

"Or don't," Callie interrupted. "Forget I said anything." She made a move towards the door, and Arizona reached out and grabbed her arm.

Callie looked down at where Arizona's skin was touching her own. She felt her forearm burst into flames.

Callie carefully looked up to meet Arizona's eyes, and the blonde dropped her hand slowly.

"Callie," Arizona enunciated slowly, trying to buy herself time. Was it really a good idea to say it? What good would it to her? Or Callie?

"What?" Callie asked sharply when Arizona said nothing more.

Finally, Arizona choked out, "There's no other women." She hesitantly looked up to meet Callie's eyes. "There's no one else."

Callie just stared at her, surprise and shock evident in her features.

"I haven't seen anyone since you," Arizona confessed. "I haven't wanted to."

Wait, Callie thought. Arizona, who had slept with Boswell, with Leah, and with a slew of women when she first got to Seattle, hadn't slept with anyone in the two years since their divorce?

It was unbelievable. It was impossible. It had to be. What did it mean?

Arizona smiled softly. "You gave me time to heal, and I figured out what makes me happy."

Callie's eyebrows raised at the meaning behind the blonde's words. Arizona was saying that Callie made her happy. That she wanted Callie. That she _still_ wanted Callie.

Callie had thought that Arizona hadn't loved her anymore but now saw that she had. That she still did.

"I know what makes me happiest," Arizona reiterated. "Now it's your turn to figure it out."

Callie wanted to say something— anything— but she couldn't. She couldn't move.

Arizona smiled at her in an attempt to regain control. It was nervous, but still, it was dazzling. "When you do, let me know," she concluded. "Until then, you have nothing to worry about." Sensing Callie needed a chance to process everything she'd said, Arizona headed for the door.

As she passed the brunette, it was Callie this time who reached out and grabbed her arm. Carefully, she brought her eyes to Arizona's. "You— you," she stuttered. She felt like she might implode. This conversation hadn't gone the way she had expected.

Arizona wanted to run, but she held her ground.

After a moment, Callie intoned, "You still love me." It was a tender accusation, and Callie heard the fear in her own voice. She wasn't sure if she was more afraid that Arizona would confirm it or deny it. She didn't know what she wanted.

Finally, Arizona offered a soft sad smile and gently nodded her head. She looked deeply into expressive brown eyes as tears welled up in her own.

"More than anything."

.

.

.

.

* * *

**So I added on to what I posted last night. Let me know what you think!**


	69. Chapter 69

**Short thing! Got this prompt via Tumblr (mermaidsocks) and thought I'd upload it here, too!**

**Prompt: ****post divorce one of them finds the wedding tape with mark saying they were going to be together in 60 years ect.**

* * *

Callie was exhausted. It had felt like her work day was never going to end, but when she got home, she found herself missing Sofia too much to sleep. It was only fair for Arizona to get her for half the time, but still. As much as Callie hated to admit it, she often missed being a family.

After making and eating a single portion of pasta and salad and flipping through the newest delivery of Sunset Magazine, she resolved to do a bit of organizing. That had always been a good way for her to unwind. She liked her space being in order, especially since she felt like life itself so rarely was.

Callie sighed as she sit down on the floor of the rug in front of the TV cabinet. She knew that there were dozens of unlabeled DVDs down there, and she was sure that she could at least give away a few.

She pulled out a stack of burned DVDs without cases and stuck one into the DVD player. Immediately, she rolled her eyes when she saw that it was "Frozen." That was one she _couldn't _get rid of; Sofia loved that movie more than anything. Quickly, Callie ejected it and pulled out her permanent marker, writing "Frozen" on it so that it would be identifiable.

_One down, a few dozen to go,_ Callie thought.

She stuck the next DVD into the player, and smiled when the menu came up on screen: "The Kids are All Right." She and Arizona had seen it together more than once, and she chuckled at the memory of Arizona talking about how hot she'd found Julianne Moore. They had used to love their movie nights.

She ejected the DVD and labeled it accordingly. Even though her memories of the movie were closely tied with memories of her ex-wife, she found that she couldn't just get rid of it. It was well-written, after all.

Callie quickly put in the next DVD. She made a face once it began to play: it was a "Baby Einstein" tape, and Sofia had grown out of _that _years ago. Callie labeled it and began a giveaway pile. Being single, it was looking like she wouldn't need it again. As much as she had thought about having another baby a few years before, the thought no longer crossed her mind. It had been something she had wanted with Arizona. It had been something she had felt like they needed.

Now, she no longer wanted more kids. It just didn't feel right without Arizona; which she knew was weird and didn't make sense, but still. It just didn't feel right.

Callie stuck the following DVD into the player. Suddenly, she saw Mark's face, and her breath hitched. There he was, in front of her, talking. Immediately, Callie grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.

Her best friend was right in front of her, wearing a tux from her wedding, and Callie cursed herself for never watching her and Arizona's wedding video before.

Because this was Mark. And these were the last words she'd ever hear him say.

And she wished that she had found this sooner. Because she missed him more than she would ever be able to comprehend. He had been family. He had been her best friend.

And, more than anything, she wished he were here now.

_I had a patient once who told me about his wedding day, _as Mark began to speak, Callie brought a hand up to the screen and traced the lines of his face with her fingertips.

_And how they asked all the married couples to come to the dance floor to dance together. And then they asked the couples who had only been married a year to sit down, then five, ten, twenty, and so on. Until they got to the last two coupkes. Two sets of grandparents: been together sixty years. Sixty years with the love of their life. That's going to be you two at our granddaughter's wedding._

_Callie, Arizona_, he concluded. _Congratulations. I love you_.

And at those words, Callie couldn't hold back her sob. "I love you, I love you, I love you," she whispered, pausing the DVD and just looking at her dead best friend's face.

How had everything gotten so screwed up?! Mark was never even going to see Sofia grow up, much less _her _daughter.

And Callie and Arizona would no longer dance together at their granddaughter's wedding. _60 years_? Callie scoffed. _They couldn't even make it to six._

Callie was grateful to have found the wedding tape, but she was also mournful when she thought about how much had changed. How much she'd…lost. How much the plane crash had truly taken from them. It had not only cost Mark's life, but in many ways, it had cost her life and that of Arizona's.

Callie no longer recognized her life some days. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be.

Arizona was supposed to be the love of her life. They were supposed to be together for sixty years.

Forever.

Callie wished they could have been happy together: forever. That had been the plan.

But from experience, she knew–perhaps better than anyone–that life had a habit of changing plans.


	70. Chapter 70

**Post 7x19.**

* * *

At about 3:30 a.m., suddenly caught in a place between sleep and wakefulness, Callie rolled over in bed, expecting to be met with Arizona's warm, comforting form. Surprisingly, though, she was met with only cool sheets and empty space.

Even still half asleep, Callie frowned, pouting out her lower lip. She sat up and whisper-yelled, "Arizona?!" She didn't want to wake Sofia, but where had Arizona gone?

When no one answered, Callie sighed, tossing the blankets off her legs and walking towards the doorway. Callie looked to her left, but Arizona wasn't in the kitchen. She looked to her right, but her girlfriend wasn't sitting on the couch reading, as she sometimes did when she couldn't sleep.

"Arizona?" Callie repeated, ambling towards Sofia's room. They shared a small apartment, so she couldn't have gone far.

As she edged closer to the baby's room, Callie noticed a shadow in the rocking chair, which had been moved so that it was parallel to Sofia's crib. Arizona had managed to squeeze her arm between the crib's wooden bars, and Sofia's tiny hand was wrapped around the blonde's finger.

Arizona's eyes were closed, her head tilted back, and Callie couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight: her two girls—her family—sleeping contently beside each other.

She walked to the chair and placed a light hand on Arizona's shoulder, wanting to wake her gently.

The blonde stirred awake, coming to and looking at Callie in confusion.

"Hey," Callie breathed, a soft smile grazing her lips. "What are you doing in here so late?"

Arizona looked towards Sofia, her small chest rising and falling with her breathing, and shrugged noncommittally. "I just wanted to check on her."

Callie exhaled sympathetically. From Arizona's tone, she knew it was more complicated than that. She knew that Arizona—having been in the car crash and having seen Sofia when she first was born—often worried about their baby girl. In the few weeks since they'd gotten home from the hospital, Callie had known that Arizona had checked on her late at night on at least several other occasions.

Now, she thought that it might have even been a nightly ritual.

Callie stood beside the crib, just taking in their beautiful, perfect baby before she worked to meet Arizona's eyes. "You still worry about her, huh?"

Arizona pursed her lips and shrugged. Of course she still worried. Callie hadn't seen Sofia when she'd first come out. She hadn't seen her endure all the surgeries.

Of course she still worried. Because—somewhat irrationally—Arizona felt more protective of Sofia than of anything else in the world. Somehow, she had become a mother, and all she wanted was for her daughter to be okay.

When Arizona finally brought her eyes up to meet her girlfriend's, she found that Callie's were filled with such undeniable tenderness and understanding that it made her own well up with tears.

She cleared her throat. "She's perfect. I know that I don't have to worry. But...I do. Sometimes."

Callie nodded, hoping that her silence would encourage Arizona to elaborate.

Arizona smiled guiltily. "I just—I like to watch her sleep." Her smile turned to a grimace. "I get scared that she'll stop breathing and that I won't be here to save her."

At this confession, Callie was the one who felt like she might cry. Arizona was the woman she loved, so her girlfriend's fear and pain was her _own_ fear and pain, too.

She made a little "tisk" sound in sympathy, then got down on her knees, positioning herself between Arizona's legs. Callie tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear and looked intensely into tired blue eyes.

"She's not going to stop breathing. Okay? You saved her life, and she's perfect." Callie smiled, and after a moment, Arizona couldn't help but smile back.

"You promise?" Arizona searched those magical brown eyes for any hint of doubt but found none.

Callie nodded solemnly, her thumb caressing a pale cheek. "I do."

Arizona closed her eyes and nodded, exhaling a shaky breath, as she worked to believe Callie's reassuring words.

Suddenly inspired by an idea, Callie's eyes widened.

"What?" Arizona asked in curiosity, noticing Callie's sudden change in demeanor.

Callie smiled conspiratorially at her, quickly kissing her cheek before standing up. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Before Arizona had a chance to answer, Callie raced out of Sofia's room and towards their own, grabbing all six of their pillows, their top sheet, and their Queen-sized down comforter. Careful not to let it drag on the floor, she rushed back towards Sofia's room, where she dropped everything on the pastel pink rug several feet from the crib.

Arizona eyed Callie, her expression both knowing and teasing.

Callie grinned. "You're still worried, so why don't we sleep in here tonight? I know it's the floor...but we'll be close, right? In case something happens. Not that it will," she quickly added, putting her hands up to ward off the idea before it could even make its way into Arizona's mind. "What do you say?" she asked, her voice small as she noticed the strange expression adorning the blonde's face.

That "strange expression" was one of awe.

Because, _man_, it was times like then that Arizona couldn't even begin to wrap her mind around how much she truly loved Callie. Callie's heart was so purely good, and it was times like then that Arizona couldn't believe Callie even existed and loved her so wholly.

There were still times that she questioned that love, but in that moment, she was sure: Callie loved her completely. And she wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

"What do you think?" Callie flushed at Arizona's intense eyes taking her in.

Arizona stood up.

She stepped towards Callie, stopping only a few mere inches away from her face.

So close. Every time she exhaled, Callie felt Arizona's sweet breath against her own lips.

She felt her heart beat faster.

Without breaking eye contact, Arizona brought her hands to Callie's shoulders, reveling in the primal hitch in the brunette's breath before her fingers ghosted down those strong, amazing arms.

She brought her lips up to meet Callie's, the exchange only a gentle whisper, before vowing, "I love you."

As she leaned in to brush her lips against Arizona's once more, Callie couldn't help but smile, as she did every time she heard those words. Hearing them spill over the blonde's mouth would never cease to amaze her.

They left her breathless.

She pulled Arizona into her, murmuring, "I love _you_," as they clung to each other, their bodies fitting together perfectly—in a way that only theirs ever had.

Finally crawling into their makeshift bed on the floor beside Sofia's crib, Callie and Arizona remained wrapped around each other. They reveled in the sound of each other's breathing and in that of Sofia's, and they slept more peacefully than they had in weeks.

They had nothing to worry about.

Sofia was perfect.

And in that moment, it felt like everything else was, too.

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading! And if anyone's interested in following my Tumblr, I'm MERMAIDSOCKS.**

**Hope you're all doing well!**


	71. Chapter 71

**Set sometime between 9x01 and 9x03.**

**Inspired by Charlotte and Cooper in 4x09 of Private Practice.**

**Sorry in advance for the angst!**

* * *

In the few—but seemingly endless—days since Arizona had been released from the hospital, she had barely left her rehabilitation bed. In fact, she'd barely done anything at all; she was anchored to the depressing bed, just as she was to her new life. She couldn't escape it.

She had refused to see Sofia. That was hard, but she didn't want her baby girl to see her like this.

She had refused to see Callie. That was harder.

Because Callie was Arizona's wife. The love of her life. The one with whom she'd chosen to spend her life.

And she'd broken her promise. She'd cut off Arizona's leg.

And, yet, despite the blonde's desperate and anger-filled pleas, Callie refused to leave her alone. No matter how much Arizona berated her, she always came back: bringing in water (which she didn't drink), meals (which she didn't eat), and occasionally helping her into the small bathroom adjoining the room.

Mostly, Callie was quiet these days. Cold, monstrous Arizona had finally managed to scare her into silence, and she no longer made futile attempts at an apology.

She knew that Arizona couldn't hear it. Arizona didn't _want_ to hear it.

Trying to hate Callie was the hardest thing she'd ever done, but somehow, it was easier than trying to understand.

So, day in and day out, Arizona stewed. She laid in bed, a pot of water on high heat that was constantly on the brink of boiling over but never quite did.

Not yet, anyway. So, Callie waited in wary anticipation, and Arizona's anger continued to froth: bubbling, churning, and seething with every hour that passed.

A little after seven, Callie gingerly turned the knob of the door, carefully walking inside and balancing a tray of dinner on Arizona's bedside table.

Most people would think to give a recovering amputee (or any patient, really) soup. Or, maybe, if they were being creative, a sandwich.

But the last time Callie had brought soup, Arizona had hurled it across the room, and Callie knew she didn't like sandwiches.

So, instead, she'd brought her wife pizza.

And if she'd done such a thing even two weeks before—say, if the blonde were sick with a nasty cold instead—Arizona would have laughed and appreciated it. She would have fallen in love, just the tiniest bit more. If that were even possible.

Because, even before Callie and Arizona were officially "girlfriends," pizza had meant something to them. They'd celebrated with it on momentous occasions, and it always acted as a comfort food on the hard days, when they would just curl around each other on the couch, allowing their bellies to be warmed by the warm, soft dough and rich cheese and their moods to be warmed by each other.

As little as two weeks ago—before the plane had fallen out of the sky—had she and Callie been fighting, Arizona would have accepted the peace offering.

Now, though, she found that she had too much anger in her to do much of anything.

As Callie set down the tray of food, she inspected her wife's worn face. Despite the insurmountable pain she must have been in, Arizona's face was hard, and she refused to look anywhere but down. She didn't want to see Callie, and she definitely didn't want to forgive her. She _couldn't_. Maybe she never would. Callie could see that.

And the thought of that made Callie stop breathing.

"Arizona..." Callie breathed, and she could feel the palpable desperation in her voice.

Arizona flinched at the care in Callie's voice, but her wife didn't notice.

"Can we talk? Please?"

Again, Callie was met with nothing. No movement. No recognition. Nothing.

She sighed, and she felt a pinch behind her eyes. "Please. I love you. Don't walk away."

At that, Arizona finally looked at her, her eyes piercing. They bored into Callie, sharp as glass. With a voice like ice, she scoffed, "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. Thanks to you."

Callie wanted to sob. She sharply inhaled, then worked to steady her breathing. "You know that's not what I meant," she whispered, looking down. Anxiously, she looked back at Arizona's face: she was a double pained window, refusing to crack despite its wear. It should have shattered by now, but it was standing strong. "Tell me what I can do," she begged. All she wanted was for Arizona to be okay. It was all she ever wanted.

"Just go. Leave. You've done enough," Arizona's sharp words sliced into her, and Callie slunk onto the floor. She couldn't even stand. She couldn't hold herself up. She couldn't so much as function. Not with the woman she loved in this...state.

She collapsed onto the floor, and Arizona did nothing. Callie probed her face. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. All she wanted was to pull Arizona into her arms and keep her safe forever, but she couldn't.

Instead, after several minutes of silence, she managed, "Look," she paused. Arizona made no attempt to look towards her, but Callie continued anyway. "I know you're mad at me. Furious," she quickly corrected. "And for now, that's okay."

She watched for a shift in Arizona's face but found none. No matter. "As long as you're thankful later, it's okay that you're mad now. I know I broke a promise. I know this isn't the life you wanted. I...I know you said you'd rather die than live without one of your legs, but I think a part of you knows how wrong that is. And a bigger part of you knows how wrong it was to ask me—your _wife_—not to save your life. Because _I love you_."

Ever so slowly, Arizona's head had begun turning towards Callie, still tensed on the cold, unforgivable floor of what used to be their bedroom. "I love you," Callie repeated solemnly, continuing without hesitation, "I'm in love with you. I'll love you...forever. No matter what. This doesn't..." she paused. "I'm yours, okay? I'm yours."

And, even as she heard the shift in Arizona's previously slow and steady breathing, Callie knew she shouldn't stay and expect a response. She wouldn't get one. So instead, she stood up, pausing standing above Arizona's rehabilitation bed only to say, "Stop telling me to leave, because I'm not going anywhere. And, _please_, eat something. I know you might want to die, but can you...live? For me?" Callie looked like she wanted to stay more, to beg, but after a moment, she idly headed towards the door.

Right as she shut it, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't sure, and she might have been crazy, but she could have sworn it was Arizona reaching for a slice of pizza.

* * *

**HELLO. So, I was thinking a lot about CharCoop earlier and how they remind me of Calzona. Like Calzona, they were Private Practice's secondary couple (the first being Addison and whoever she was lovin' at the time or Sam/Naomi), and like Calzona, they were two incredibly different people who somehow loved each other more than anything else.**

**Cooper, like Callie, was emotional, (ma)/paternal, and occasionally clueless.**

**Charlotte, like Arizona, was complex (super), ambitious, private, and ended up adoring the kids she had.**

**AND THEN I was thinking about how Charlotte's rape is the ~somewhat equivalent~ to the plane crash. Like, that's Calzona's Equally Big Trauma. Arizona, like Charlotte, felt as if she had lost control of her life, as well as having lost a part of herself. **

**Callie, like Cooper, saw the woman she loved suffering, and she was helpless to stop it.**

**Anyway, I know this is short, but I hope you like! Leave reviews if so! :)**


	72. Chapter 72

**Season 12 A/U. Yay! (Set sometime after S11. No way this would ever happen, but it was fun to pretend!)**

* * *

The Friday after Richard and Catherine's wedding and an exceptionally long week, everyone was feeling the need to unwind.

In passing Arizona and Bailey, Alex offered, "Dinner and drinks tonight at Mer's. Tell everyone."

"I have Sofia!" Arizona quickly called after her friend.

"Bring her!" he exclaimed from down the hall, and then he was gone.

Arizona and Bailey looked at each other and shrugged. Bailey said, "Well, I'm not gonna turned down dinner. As long as Karev isn't cooking."

Arizona chuckled. "He's hopeless in the kitchen. See you tonight?"

Bailey nodded, and the two doctors went their separate ways.

Arizona made her way towards the open elevator, where she found that only Callie was standing inside. "Hi," Arizona chirped generously.

"Hey," Callie smiled. Finally, she and Arizona could function in the same room together, and she was grateful.

"Meredith and Alex are having a little dinner party with a bunch of us and the kids. Are you going?"

"Are you?" Callie was curious.

Arizona shrugged noncommittally. "I kind of have to. I'm living there until Meredith moves in, and you know how much Sof adores Zola."

"I do," Callie smiled. The elevator came to a stop on the orthopedics floor. "I guess I'll see you tonight, then?" She began making her way off the elevator as several people filed inside.

Arizona only nodded in response, as she offered a cordial close-mouthed smile. She no longer blamed Callie for walking out of therapy for the last time on that awful day, and it felt good to be able to communicate with no hidden hints of passive aggressiveness.

And finally, after three years of being depressed and riddled with PTSD, selfishness, and loss, Arizona recognized herself again. She could see the goodness in herself that had been absent for so long, and it made her see—made her remember—who Callie was at heart.

And who Callie was, was someone amazing. Miraculous, really. Deserving of—if nothing else—cordial moments with her ex-wife. In truth, she was deserving of _everything_. So, Arizona was doing her best to be kind. At this point, it was all she _could_ do.

The day passed in a blur, and luckily, she was able to get home by five. "Go find Zola, okay Sof?" Arizona suggested as the two of them opened the door.

"You're here!" Meredith exclaimed, coming out of the kitchen. "Alex is stuck in surgery until seven, which is when everyone will get here! And I can't even warm frozen food without burning it."

Arizona could feel how swollen and blistered her leg was, but for tonight, she opted to ignore the dull, pestering pain. She laughed. "I'll help. What are we making?"

"Chicken? I also brought rice and materials for salad and roasted vegetables."

Arizona nodded solemnly, standing at the sink and washing her hands. "I can work with that."

"I'm so glad you're here," Meredith acknowledged gratefully.

The two women found an unfamiliar but comfortable rhythm—with Arizona taking over the more difficult task of cooking and Meredith chopping up vegetables and preparing a large salad.

"You sure you don't want to stay here when I move back in?" Meredith quirked an eyebrow teasingly. "I'm worried that the kids haven't been eating as well without Derek here to cook," she admitted truthfully.

Arizona gave her a sympathetic smile. Derek's death had changed them all, but she couldn't even begin to understand what it must have taken from Meredith. "You'll just have to keep inviting me to dinner parties, I guess. I'll help cook."

Meredith grinned. _That_ she could do. She had never been close to Arizona, but with the plane crash and Alex's obvious reverence for her, she had never been able to dislike Arizona, either.

A little before seven, Alex rushed in, obviously frazzled. "Is everything almost ready?! Mer, did you burn anything?!"

"_No, _she did not_,_" Arizona chided. "Everything is perfect, no thanks to you."

He scowled. "Whatever. I planned the damn thing."

Meredith rolled her eyes, but she was laughing. "Just let everyone in, okay? We'll pop open some wine and beers."

Bailey and Ben were the first guests to arrive, happily taking their seats on a couch while Tucker hurried upstairs to look for Bailey, his mother's namesake and his friend.

Soon after, Owen and Jackson walked in together.

"Dude, where's Kepner?" Alex asked, and Arizona's ears perked up as she waited for his answer.

"Stuck at the hospital," Jackson growled. Clearly, the two of them were still having problems.

By the time Arizona and Meredith exited the kitchen to greet their friends, everyone but Jo and Catherine were there.

"Please tell me Meredith didn't cook," Amelia said as Arizona and Meredith walked towards her.

Beside her, the generally kind Maggie couldn't help the small, knowing smile that sprouted on her face at that. She knew all too well that cooking wasn't her half-sister's strong suit.

Meredith rolled her eyes, and Arizona offered, "_I_ cooked. But she made the salad, did all the cutting, and bought you sparkling cider."

At this, Amelia actually smiled gratefully at her sister-in-law. "I guess she warrants _some_ appreciation then."

Meredith's returning smile was kind. As of a week ago, they had reached an understanding. They had forgiven each other. And now, though—_god_, Meredith was awful with sisters—they were working on becoming family to one another.

While Meredith began a conversation with Maggie, Arizona's eyes searched the room for the woman she was really looking for. Where was Callie? She was nowhere to be found.

She and Webber exchanged pleasantries, and she talked to Jackson for a few minutes, still seeing no sign of Callie. It was then that the pain in her thigh became more apparent, and she felt how much her prosthetic was chaffing with every step she took. She decided to quickly run up to her room and take off her prosthetic, just for a second, to massage her leg and take some Advil.

But, instead of finding her room empty like she'd expected, she found Sofia, Zola, Bailey, and Tucker playing, with Callie smiling as she supervised them.

"Hey," Callie greeted Arizona with a warm smile and sparkling eyes as the blonde stood in the doorway.

"Hey," Arizona smiled weakly, unable to completely mask her pain.

Still able to read her ex-wife like a children's book, Callie's face fell. "Hey, kiddos, Sofia's mom needs the space. Let's go terrorize Alex's room, instead!"

"YAAAAY!" the kids cheered, wasting no time running towards Alex and Jo's now nearly empty bedroom.

As Callie looked after them, chuckling and shaking her head, Arizona smiled at her genuinely. "_Thank you_. You didn't have to do that."

Callie first waved her off, but concerned, she couldn't help but ask, "Is everything okay? Do you need anything?"

Arizona shook her head stoically. "I'm fine," she insisted. "If you want to go hang out with the grownups, I can take over watching the kids in a few minutes."

"I don't mind," Callie smiled easily. She moved to stand in the opposite side of the doorway, close enough that Arizona could smell her. God, she loved Callie's perfume. "I'll be down the hall with them if you need me to get you anything."

Arizona nodded gratefully. "I'm good, but thank you. Really," she added sincerely.

And Callie was almost surprised by the absence of irritation in Arizona's voice—which had, historically, been overpowering in matters of Arizona's leg. Since the details of the amputation had been revealed, though, said irritation had been entirely absent. There was only genuine appreciation in Arizona's voice.

Arizona closed the door behind her and quickly got to work removing her prosthetic, not wanting to miss much of the party downstairs.

Only a few minutes later, she felt better and walked towards Alex's room, greeting her ex-wife with a now much more relaxed smile. To the kids, she asked, "You guys hungry?" The consensus was a loud, overpowering, "Yes!" and she laughed. "Come on," she signaled them towards the hallway. "I think it's probably time for dinner." As the six of them ambled downstairs—Ellis was already down for the night—both Callie and Arizona couldn't help but think about Arizona's hyperbolic yet genuine words of commitment years before: _We'll have kids. We'll have all kinds of kids...and I love you so much, and I can't live without you and our 10 kids._

Somehow, this moment—walking down the stairs after a gaggle of four happy kids— gave them both a lingering taste of how their lives could have been. And, like a chocolate truffle, the taste was decadently sweet but gone too quickly.

"Oh good," Meredith said as they all walked into the crowded living room. "You got them down here!" She turned to the guests. "Does everyone want to start making their way towards the table?"

Callie and Arizona occupied themselves with filling everyone's glasses, and by the time they had finished, only two seats were left: right beside each other.

Talk and chatter came easily between coworkers and friends, and everyone agreed that the food was amazing.

"Mm," Callie nearly moaned between bites. "Who made the chicken?"

From beside her, Arizona raised her hand. "That'd be me."

Callie turned to her, impressed. "I should've known. I've always loved your chicken."

"Thanks," Arizona blushed. She couldn't get over how happy she was about how well she and Callie were getting along. It had been a long journey to get even here.

After the long meal, everyone moved back into the living room, chatting comfortably and merrily with one another. Eventually, the most worn out doctors headed home, and only Meredith, Alex, Callie, Arizona, and Jackson were left: friends who had lived through shootings, car crashes, plane crashes, bus explosions, and a handful of deaths together.

"Is April going to stop by?" Arizona asked Jackson during a lull in the conversation.

Everyone remained silent, wondering how their friend was _still_ stuck at the hospital.

Jackson just shrugged, clearly annoyed with his wife from his tone. "Who knows. I'm trying. I'm trying to follow your advice. I'm trying to let her 'learn to walk again,' like you said, but..." he shook his head.

"Wait, what?" Callie interjected, speaking for them all. What were he and Arizona talking about?

Arizona's eyes widened, but before she could assure Callie that it was nothing, Jackson said, "Arizona just told me that I needed to give April the patience and space to figure _stuff_ out." He paused. "The space to find herself again—or whatever— and then hopefully come back to me."

Meredith and Alex nodded at him in understanding, but Callie had a strange look in her eyes. Knowing, maybe, so Arizona quickly added, "I just, you know, mentioned that April went through a trauma and..." Arizona stopped short. She wasn't sure how to explain what her thought process was without revealing that, in many ways, she was doing the same thing with Callie: giving her a chance to find herself again. To find happiness again.

Until she did, Arizona was waiting: in the background, far to the left, but still in the picture. She was waiting for Callie to be happy again, and maybe—someday—to look for happiness with Arizona again.

Because Arizona could be happy with Callie forever. That she knew.

She could find happiness with someone else, sure, but it wouldn't even compare to how happy she _could_ be.

If Callie wanted her again one day, that is. And if they learned to trust each other and communicate.

It was a long shot, Arizona knew, but she was waiting anyway. Like Jackson, she was waiting for Callie to heal.

But Callie didn't need to know that. Callie _shouldn't_ know that. Right?

"A— And—" Arizona continued to babble, looking for more to say as she avoided Callie's pensive, squinted eyes across the room. _Shit_. She turned back to Jackson. "You love April, and you're trying to give her the time to find herself again. It's all you can do."

Jackson nodded, eyebrows furrowed and piercing eyes intently looking at the carpet.

Carefully, Arizona glanced at Callie, finding that her ex-wife was still staring at her in question.

Arizona needed to get out of there. "I'm going to get another beer! Anyone else want one?"

Alex lifted his still half full bottle in the air. "Me."

Arizona looked around the rest of the room for answers, and Meredith said, "Just bring a bunch out. I'm sure we'll drink them." Arizona nodded and hurried towards the kitchen, desperate to escape Callie's knowing eyes. Once there, she focused on slowing her breathing, pacing back and forth beside the counter.

This was dumb! It was all dumb.

What was wrong with her?

But before she could figure it out, she heard the sound of steps in the doorway and looked up. _Callie_. Of course.

"What happened with those beers?" Callie joked, attempting to lighten the mood and ameliorate Arizona's obvious anxiety.

"Hah," Arizona attempted to laugh, riffling through the fridge for the beers. Now that Callie was _here_, Arizona needed to get back out _there_.

Callie came up behind her—so close—and closed the refrigerator door, insisting on Arizona's full attention. She crossed her arms, and Arizona looked anywhere but at her.

"Is...that what you've been doing?" she asked. Point blank.

"Wh— What are you talking about?" Arizona feigned ignorance. She knew damn well what Callie was talking about.

"You know what I'm talking about. What you said to Jackson...Is that what you've been doing? Letting me, you know, metaphorically 'learn to walk again?' Is that why you've been keeping such a distance?"

Arizona sighed in defeat, looking down at the linoleum floor at her feet. "Callie...I..." she paused, shaking her head. She didn't know what to say, how to defend herself. Because how could she? Callie was right.

And Callie realized that her questions were futile. She knew she was right. Her eyes widened as she thought about the time since their divorce. As she took in this new information.

It changed things, didn't it?

Arizona just stared at her nervously. A part of her wanted to run far, far away. But another part of her desperately wanted to know what Callie was thinking.

Callie watched as the blonde reached up and began fiddling with her blouse's collar, reaching for a necklace that no longer had a home around her neck.

"All this time..." Callie finally continued, "I thought you stopped loving me. I thought that was why you just let me walk away, and that was why haven't made any effort to..._I don't know_...work things out since."

Arizona released a shaky breath, her eyes suddenly filling with raw emotion. "_No_." The tiny word was a gentle, forlorn whisper in the silent room. She shook her head and swallowed hard. "I _never_ stopped. I could never stop. And I never will."

Callie's expression smoothed out as her ill-concealed elation overtook her face.

_Arizona loved her_. Arizona still loved her.

"But, Callie," Arizona murmured; she raised her shoulders in defeat. "Knowing this...it shouldn't change anything. I don't want you to feel pressured into something you don't want. I caused you so much pain, and...you deserve to be happy. I don't want to suffocate you, again. I don't want our problems to kill you slowly, again. I want you to keep feeling free." She felt goosebumps line her arms. She felt sick to her stomach, wanting to screech in agony the way her Peds patients with inflamed appendixes always had.

She _hurt_. Physically hurt. Not being with Callie, not being able to openly love Callie...it _hurt_.

But, she loved Callie. More than anything, with the exception of Sofia. And loving someone _that much_ meant putting them first. Just as Callie had put Arizona first after the plane crash. Just as Callie had, in part, sacrificed their relationship and marriage to make sure that Arizona would be okay, with or without her. To make sure that she would have someone when she was too angry with Callie to be able to count on her.

Callie had given her Alex. Callie had done everything she could to make sure Arizona would recover after her trauma. She had forgiven her for countless transgressions.

It was Arizona's turn to think about Callie, instead of herself. It was Callie's turn to heal.

Callie closed her eyes tightly, feeling an overwhelming urge to violently combat Arizona's words. Her ex-wife couldn't be more wrong. "I only felt stuck because _you_ felt stuck, and you were scared to say so. You wanted a six month break, remember? Maybe longer. You wanted out! And we kept repeating the same patterns, again and again. My biggest nightmare was to live without you, but it was the right thing to do."

Arizona took several deliberate steps towards the kitchen island. She set her elbows on the counter and put her head in her hands.

Callie was quiet. In the weeks before the divorce, Callie would have insisted Arizona reply immediately and storm out of the room when she wouldn't. But, now, she waited, patient.

Finally, Arizona looked up in surrender, her face red and haggard. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't deny it. "I did feel stuck."

Callie inhaled sharply. The information was old news, but hearing Arizona admit it made it feel more real, somehow. "Yeah," she breathed. "Me, too."

Arizona nodded. "I didn't feel good enough for you. Ever," she confessed.

At that uncharacteristically brazen admission, all Callie wanted to do was wrap her arms around the blonde and assure her that she had always been good enough and would always be good enough. That she was the best there was.

But it wasn't her place, and before the urge could completely consume her, Arizona continued, "And I _cheated_ on you."

Callie felt her stomach clench. She'd accepted what happened, she'd forgiven Arizona, but those words never became easier to hear. "I didn't think you loved me enough," Callie admitted.

Arizona raised her eyebrows, obviously surprised by those words. She couldn't fathom how Callie could think that. She lived inside herself, and she knew how her love for her ex-wife had consumed her. It always had.

"You cheated on me," Callie explained. "You were supposed to love me—only me—and you _had sex _with two other women."

Arizona bit her lip painfully as the first tear fell.

"I forgave you, I did," Callie assured her. "But I just...I still don't understand. Did you just...stay with me because you were scared? Because you obviously weren't happy."

Arizona sighed. She had spent a lot of time soul searching, but now, none of her responses felt good enough. Callie deserved a concrete, forgivable reason, and Arizona couldn't supply that. Many things had led to her infidelity: some internal, and some completely out of her control.

"Why wasn't I enough for you, anymore?"

"Calliope, you were _always_ enough for me. My thing with Boswell...it had nothing to do with you. It was just everything. You know how bad everything was that month. For us both."

Callie nodded. She remembered. The nightmares. The depression. The one-year anniversary of the plane crash and then of Mark's death.

The miscarriage.

But, while Callie had found comfort in Arizona and in her work during the difficult time, Arizona had found it in another woman.

Callie had said that she had forgiven Arizona, but she was clearly still upset by it. Which meant, Arizona realized, that Callie had placed the blame on someone else, instead: herself.

"You were enough. It wasn't your fault. After the plane crash, you did more for me than anyone else ever would have. The cheating was on _me_. _I _did this. I hurt you; it was my fault."

Callie inhaled a deep breath, attempting to absorb Arizona's words.

"I loved you so consumingly. In a way I'll never be able to love anyone else," she looked down at her hands resting on the counter in front of her. "I did a terrible thing, and you had nothing to do with it, but you were the one who suffered most."

"Yeah," Callie tried to chuckle, but instead what came out was a dry sob.

"And Leah was just _there_. I missed you, and she was there."

Callie nodded. Leah made more sense to her. Callie had made her think they were on their way towards divorce, after all. Callie had thought that they _were_. And, yes, it was true that Arizona hadn't tried to fight for them, to attain Callie's forgiveness until far later, it was clear (and it always had been) that she had been in a bad place.

Now she wasn't. And she was fighting for something, right? If not for long term love, then at least for Callie's understanding. That was still something.

"Why didn't you feel like enough?" Callie asked, her eyes fixed on the blonde.

Arizona pursed her lips before speaking. This wasn't easy. Being open, sharing her feelings—that had never been easy. "You kept trying to fix me. To get me on crutches, to get me a prosthetic, to get me walking, to build me a robotic leg. I thought...I thought you didn't think I was enough after the crash, with a part of me missing."

With her sharp intake of breath, a tiny sympathetic "oh" escaped Callie's pained mouth. Poor Arizona.

"And you were so angry! I tried to apologize or cheating, again and again, even though I couldn't quite understand it. And I didn't feel sorry at first. And you said you forgave me, but you kept using it against me. I felt like I _owed_ you. Like, because you forgave me, I had to bend, again and again, giving up what I needed for you."

She fearfully met Callie's eyes, expecting her characteristically bullheaded, defensive ex-wife to fight her. To state all the reasons Arizona's feelings were wrong.

She didn't, though.

She'd grown, clearly. They both had.

"I'm sorry," was all Callie said at first. "I'm so, _so_ sorry."

Arizona's face flushed at the care and pity in Callie's voice. "We both made mistakes."

Callie shook her head, eager for Arizona to hear her. "Look at me," she insisted.

After a few moments of hesitation, Arizona looked up.

Callie intensely held her gaze, trying to communicate with her eyes until she stated, "You are always enough."

Arizona rolled her eyes, not up for a rousing and disingenuous pep talk.

"Hey," Callie insisted, reaching out and touching her hand from the other side of the island counter. "You are more than enough. You are the most incredible person I have ever known."

At that, Arizona scoffed in disbelief, but Callie's expression didn't change, and her brown eyes never strayed from Arizona's baby blues.

"I mean it," Callie insisted. "I hate that I made you question that. Because: You. Are. Enough. Okay?"

Arizona nodded, finally really _hearing_ her ex-wife. "And I'll keep loving you. Because my love for you has never been in question. You are the one love of my life." She paused, just taking in Callie's perfect soft features. She used to have her skin memorized, but now, so close, she saw that the worry line between her eyebrows had deepened, as with the almost imperceptible wrinkles on the outside of her eyes.

Callie felt her heart beat faster at Arizona's words: overworking. She'd ached to hear those words forever, she was now realizing. She couldn't help the look of wonder that overtook her face. Because, _man_, despite everything, she still couldn't comprehend how this wonderful, beautiful human could love her as absolutely as she now seemed to.

"And I used to think that nothing else mattered," Arizona continued. "That love was enough. But other things matter. Your happiness matters. It's more important, so I'm not going to ask. I'm not going to ask you if we can try again, because I know you might say yes. I want you to feel free. I want you to _be happy_. Even if it's with someone else. Even if it's without me."

But, at hearing those selfless words, at hearing the _action_ behind it, something clicked in Callie. Everything clicked into place. It was as if her life—her relationship with Arizona—were surreally placed before her.

She saw truth. She saw it all.

She loved Arizona. Arizona loved her. They were so in love with each other.

And they both knew now that relationships were built on more than love.

They needed trust. And, before the night began, Callie had trusted Arizona with everything but her heart.

Now, Callie trusted her entirely.

Arizona had trusted Callie more than anyone in her life, until the amputation.

And now she knew the truth.

They needed to communicate. And they had. Tonight, in Alex's/Mer's kitchen, they'd managed to divulge it all, breaking through the fear and insecurity in search of understanding.

They hadn't interrupted one another once.

And, finally, they needed the patience and perseverance to commit to each other, to commit to trying, for the rest of their lives together.

Callie felt committed. She loved this woman, no matter how much she tried not to; no matter how much she tried to fight it.

And Arizona had just admitted to how much she loved Callie.

What did they have to lose?

"Ask," Callie breathed.

Arizona's eyes widened in surprise. "Callie..." she pleaded.

"Ask me," Callie repeated, stronger now.

Arizona shook her head, indignant. "I can't. You're happier without me."

"Arizona," Callie insisted. "Please."

Arizona widened her eyes, silently pleading for Callie to stop making this so hard. "Trying again...it's not a good idea."

Callie purposefully walked around the counter, closer and closer to Arizona until she was standing right in front of her, mere inches away.

Arizona could smell her, and she felt dizzy. She looked up and met Callie's magical big brown eyes.

Callie looked deep into Arizona's eyes, her own gaze unwavering.

"You are the love of my life," she finally proclaimed, her words strong and unquestionable. "And being with you makes me happy." As she realized the absolute, complete truth in her words, her eyes watered. _Arizona made her happy_.

Arizona shook her head, still somehow unwilling to believe it. She had given Callie space to learn to walk again. Was it possible that enough time and healing had passed, and Callie was really walking home to her?

"Ask me again, Arizona," Callie murmured.

Arizona took a deep breath. She felt her hands shaking. She felt everything shaking. She closed her eyes momentarily, gathering her thoughts.

"Calliope, I love you now, I loved you then, and I'll love you, forever. You make me happy, and I want to make you happy, forever. Can we please try again?"

At those words, Callie felt her entire body erupt with songbirds. Her skin was tingling, from the top of her head to the tips of her fingers and toes.

A dazzling smile sprouted on her face before she had even realized it. She couldn't wait to pull Arizona into her arms.

She couldn't wait to fight with her, and cry with her, and laugh with her, and _love_ with her—hopefully forever.

"Yes, Arizona," Callie's voice caught in her throat, and she cleared it. Her eyes sparkled as she poured all her love into that one meaningful word.

"_Yes_."

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading, and please let me know if you liked it! Credit to arizonassunshine on Tumblr for the great idea.**


	73. Chapter 73

**A day at the beach. Set late season 10.**

* * *

"Hey, you ready to go?" Callie asked, as she ambled into their bathroom to grab some beach towels.

"Ready," Arizona responded absently, attempting to smile. Callie sensed her wife's barely concealed insecurity and paused, patiently imploring the blonde's face.

"Arizona, we promised Sofia that we'd take her to the beach today."

"I know," Arizona quickly defended. "I'm fine." Looking away, she expertly fastened her waterproof prosthesis.

Callie sighed. Why wouldn't Arizona even...talk to her about her fears? It had been more than two years! Why wouldn't Arizona just confide in her?

It was Callie's job to listen and to _be there_, and it was all she wanted to do. But she could only do so if Arizona let her in.

Callie sat beside her wife, who was ensconced in the art of donning her prosthesis, clearly avoiding what she knew was coming.

"Sweetie," Callie began gingerly, "Can we talk about this?"

"Where's Sofia?" Arizona quickly digressed, wanting to steer the conversation away from herself.

"She's fine," Callie assured her. "She's playing with her dolls. Tell me what you're thinking." Callie lowered her head, trying in vain to meet her wife's guarded eyes. She soothingly placed her hand on the soft thigh that was nearly touching her own. "Please?"

After a moment of thick silence, Arizona exhaled loudly as she looked everywhere but into Callie's worried eyes. "I know I'm being ridiculous. I know that. But..." she shrugged in defeat, "I just...How am I supposed to go to the beach like _this_?" she asked, signaling her artificial leg.

Callie's eyes remained fixed on her, unblinking, until Arizona fearfully met her gaze at last.

"You are no less of a person because of this," Callie assured her solemnly. "You are no less of a wife. You are no less of a mom. And you are no less of a doctor. You're _better_, because you are now uniquely qualified to know exactly what patients are going through during their roads to recovery."

Almost indiscernibly, the blonde nodded, recognizing the truth in her wife's words. "I know," she agreed. Then she paused. "But people will stare."

Callie was silent for a moment, unsure of how to assuage Arizona's fears. Then, a mischievous smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "If you're a in a swimsuit, it's not your leg that people will be staring at. Trust me, honey."

Arizona rolled her eyes and groaned, but she also couldn't help but chuckle at Callie's valiant attempt at humor and at lightening the mood, given the subject matter.

"I'm serious," the brunette vowed, moving into kiss her wife's cheek. When she pulled back, she pleaded, "Now, can we _please_ go? Today's one of the fifteen warm days we'll get all year, and I really don't want to bail and then have Sof drag us into the freezing ocean on a rainy day."

"Yeah," Arizona dimpled, squeezing her hand. "I'll drag the little munchkin away from the Barbies, and then we'll go."

"Yay!" Callie grinned, following the blonde by standing up. She paused, unmoving, staring at her wife. "Did I at least make you feel a little bit better?" She bit her lip.

Arizona took in the vulnerable look in Callie's eyes and was genuine when she smiled. "Yes, Calliope," she promised. She ran her hands down the brunette's strong arms, relishing the radiating warmth and allowing herself a moment to remember that this beautiful, wonderful, selfless woman in front of her was, in fact, real. And hers.

"Really. _Thank you_."

"My pleasure," Callie teased. Then more seriously, she pledged, "'_Whatever you can't do, I will_.'"

Arizona exhaled, and with that expulsion of breath came all the stress and fear she'd been harboring. "'That's how this works,' right?"

Callie nodded. "That's how this works."


	74. Chapter 74

**Set after they're back together. Please leave reviews if you like!**

* * *

It was within days of Arizona moving back home that she put her heart necklace back around her neck: where it belonged. And Callie had yet to notice or comment on it.

While their wedding rings had first symbolized commitment but later came to symbolize adultery, the significance of their necklaces had never been tainted. The heart necklaces always had—and always would—symbolize their love.

Love that had been well entombed during the past few years, concealed and buried inside themselves until so recently. Love that had always been there, but far below the surface: both Callie and Arizona attempting to protect the other from pain by staying away.

Both attempting to be selfless by walking away from the other, but both finding that, in fact, together they were their best selves.

Extraordinary together but ordinary apart.

Extraordinary together.

However, it took years to realize this. Years of first pain and then healing. And during that time, Arizona worried that Callie had forgotten the significance of their necklaces.

She worried that Callie might have thrown hers away.

"She is asleep," Arizona said of Sofia as she walked into the bedroom.

Callie was standing by the bed, working on folding a mountain of laundry, and she smiled. "She's so happy that you're home. That we're back together. She's probably been dreaming of sunshine and rainbows, with you putting her to bed every night smiling."

Arizona laughed easily, opening up the third drawer of her dresser to take out her pajamas. "Sunshine and rainbows, huh?" she teased. "Is my smile really _that_ infectious?"

Callie grinned. "That and more."

They took a moment just to look at each other appreciatively, and then Arizona suggested, "You ready to get changed and go to sleep? I'm exhausted."

"Me, too," Callie yawned. She walked over to her dresser on the opposite side of the room and began rummaging through it for her own sleepwear.

* * *

Minutes later, Callie crawled into bed, and Arizona expertly removed her prosthesis and rolled over to face her wife—or, whatever she was now. Her life partner. Her daughter's mom. The woman that she knew now she'd be with for the rest of her life.

After they turned off the lights , Callie whispered conversationally, "This new sleeping arrangement is weird."

Arizona furrowed her eyebrows, a mixture of confusion and hurt crossing her features. "You don't—"

"No," Callie quickly interrupted, stopping Arizona from thinking that she didn't like that they were sharing a bed again. She definitely liked that. "Not bad weird. I mean, good weird. I mean...just..." she shook her head. "This isn't coming out right."

Arizona still looked confused and fearful. "What isn't coming out right?"

Callie sighed. "I just...I stopped sleeping here after you moved out. First, I stopped because the sheets smelled like you and your stuff was everywhere, but then it just seemed wrong. I don't know. Like something was missing. Because you weren't here."

"Wait..." Arizona stopped her. "Where were you sleeping during the last two and a half years? The guest room?"

Callie shrugged, a little self-conscious. "Well, yeah." She looked into Arizona's wide eyes. "So it's weird. Being back in here. And being back here with you. It feels _right_, but I just wasn't sure I'd ever be able to sleep in here again. Because I couldn't sleep here without you, which is dumb, I know. But now you're here now, and I can sleep now, and..." she smirked and rolled her eyes at herself. "And I'm rambling."

"You're beautiful when you ramble," Arizona breathed, reaching out and tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear and then moving her hand down so that her thumb stroked the soft caramel skin at the side of Callie's neck.

Callie's eyes became hooded at the sensation, and every time the blonde's thumb moved, she felt like purring in pleasure. She in turn moved to put her hand over Arizona's hip, but she stopped short when she noticed something shiny hanging from her neck.

She ghosted her fingers over the delicate gold chain, moving her hand down to clasp the heart-shaped charm that laid directly over Arizona's own heart. "You put it back on?"

Arizona swallowed audibly, then nodded disjointedly. "I thought...I don't know. I found it while I was unpacking all my things, and...I just think it belongs here."

Callie smiled, as her fingers continued to trace the necklace she remembered giving the blonde so long ago. She couldn't believe she'd kept it, even after having thought, for so long, that they were done. Permanently.

"I know it's been a while," Arizona continued, looking away from Callie's intense eyes and playing with the short thread hanging off her pillowcase, "But I was hoping you might still have yours, too, and didn't lose it or throw it away or something."

Callie knit her brows. "You think I threw it away?"

Arizona shrugged noncommittally. Callie knew that meant that she was terrified that it might be true but didn't want to show it.

Quickly, Callie turned to her other side, rifling through her bedside table's small drawer. Seconds later, she turned back to Arizona, grinning as a nearly identical silver necklace dangled from her fingers.

"You kept it," Arizona observed, sighing in relief.

Callie nodded. "It's been right here all along. Help me put it on?"

Immediately, a broad, cheesy smile took over Arizona's face, and she nodded enthusiastically, lifting herself up on her hand to sit up.

Callie grinned back, handing the blonde the necklace and moving to sit up facing away from her.

Diligently, Arizona lowered the necklace around Callie's neck. And as soon as thick black hair was lifted out of her way, she fastened the closure into place.

Callie turned back around when she felt Arizona sit back. "Better?"

"Much better," Arizona agreed, her voice breathy.

They both laid back down, still facing each other, and Callie reverently put her hand over the dainty silver necklace. "It belongs here, too. Your heart with mine."

Arizona flushed, endless waves of happiness and relief falling over her.

She was really back. _They_ were really back. They had always been homes to each other, and they now _had_ homes in each other, again. Forever.

"I love you, Callie," Arizona declared, and now, it wasn't a quiet plea for Callie to stay—to love her—to forgive—but just a verbal reminder of the love she had consistently expressed during the past few weeks. The love that had always been there, but the love she now showed freely and demonstrated through constant action.

Now, Callie didn't need to hear the words. Arizona's love for her was there. It was there in a big, unconditional way. Arizona loved her as completely as she loved Arizona.

She knew that now.

"I love you, too," Callie promised in return.

But Arizona already knew.

"Turn around," Callie instructed, and when Arizona did, Callie moved so that she was directly behind her, encasing the smaller body with her own. She nuzzled her nose into blonde hair and wrapped her arm around a toned abdomen, pulling Arizona more tightly against herself.

Arizona hummed in approval, having hungered for Callie's warmth around her for the entirety of their separation. She scooted back, burrowing herself deeper into the woman she loved.

Eyes already drooping, Callie smiled languidly. "You know what?"

"Hmm?" Arizona murmured, floating through that heavenly place between wakefulness and sleep.

"_You_ belong _here_."


	75. Chapter 75

**AU. Set in the future. (Calzona are together of course)**

**Please leave reviews!**

* * *

"I love that getting together and eating cheeseburgers and doing shots of tequila has become our thing," Callie laughed as she cut their cheeseburger in half. "Cristina would've loved this."

Meredith grinned. "Though, if Cristina were here, we'd likely do _a lot_ more shots."

"Good point," Callie agreed, then noticed her phone ringing and looked down at the screen. "Ooh, it's my dad."

"Answer it," Meredith shrugged.

So she did, with a "Daddy, I'm at a bar right now, so it might not be the best time to t—"

"Mija, your mother's in the hospital," Carlos interrupted.

"What?" What had her father said?

"She had a heart attack," Carlos continued on the other side of the line. "You should come see her. At once."

"Wait!" Callie exclaimed. "She's going to be okay, right? I—I mean, she's young. She's healthy. She's going to be okay, right?"

"Calliope, mi amor, you need to come home. I have to go. I love you."

Once her father had hung up, Callie set down her phone and attempted to swallow the lump in her throat.

"What's wrong?" Meredith asked immediately. She had always been good at reading people, and Callie was especially easy to read.

Callie couldn't look at anything. She felt like she was levitating in midair. She felt like she was drowning. "My mom had a heart attack. My dad says I need to go to Miami."

Meredith raised her eyebrows. "Now?"

Callie nodded. She felt like a ghost.

"Well, go!" Meredith instructed. "Have him email Pierce the scans for a second opinion."

Callie nodded. She still felt as if she was in a trance.

She hadn't been close to her mom in a long time, sure, but the woman was still her mother. And she was still potentially dying. And nothing could have prepared Callie for that.

"Callie? Can I give you a ride?"

Callie shook her head. "I didn't drink anything. I'll be fine. I need to go."

Meredith nodded sympathetically. "Go."

* * *

"Hey!" Arizona smiled from her perch on the couch as Callie walked through the front door. "You're home already? How were drinks with Meredith?"

When Callie didn't answer immediately, Arizona carefully inspected her wife's face.

Immediately, she set down her book. "Callie? What happened?" She wanted to walk over to her, to comfort the lost looking woman somehow, but her prosthesis was in their bedroom and all she had were crutches there.

"Callie...?" Arizona repeated, worry lacing her voice.

When all Callie did was look at her, eyes filling with tears, Arizona held out her hand towards the brunette. "Come here."

Her legs moving robotically, Callie paced over to the couch and fell beside Arizona, who immediately wrapped her arm around Callie's back, leaning closer into her. "Tell me what's wrong."

Callie shook her head, unable to string the words together. "I need to go to Miami."

Arizona furrowed her eyebrows. "Why?"

"My...mom...had a..." Callie stuttered disjointedly. "Heart attack. She's in the hospital."

Arizona tightened her hold around Callie's shoulders, a sympathetic "Oh" falling from her lips.

Callie closed her eyes, trying to ward off the tears she already felt coming.

"Oh, Callie..." Arizona murmured, pulling a willing Callie against her and wrapping her arms around her wife's shuddering body, her hands rubbing soft circles on her back.

Callie allowed herself to be comforted by her responsive wife until, eventually, her sobs subsided to the occasional hiccup.

Finally, she pulled away from Arizona, who took in Callie's splotchy face and swollen eyes and felt sick to her stomach. It wasn't fair for Callie to be in so much pain. To have a sick mom. To still love someone so entirely, even after years of her mother rejecting her.

"So when do we need to leave?" Arizona asked.

"'We'?" Callie questioned, her voice oddly high, as if the answer wasn't obvious.

"Callie, we're in a partnership," Arizona spelled it out for her. "We're married. I love you. Of course I'm coming with you."

Callie exhaled a shaky breath. Somehow, that made her feel so much better.

"In the morning?" Callie asked.

Arizona nodded. "Okay. Would you hand me my phone? I'll see if Meredith will take Sof for the weekend, and then I'll get us tickets."

Callie just looked at Arizona, searching her face. "Are you sure? We have to take a—"

"Plane. I know," Arizona finished. "I've been on planes since the crash, Callie," she continued. "Don't worry about me."

Callie still didn't look convinced, but she nodded. "Okay." She sighed. "I'm gonna go get ready for bed."

Even after Callie was down the hallway and out of sight, Arizona stared after her in worry.

Then, always rational in a crisis, she got to work. Meredith immediately agreed to watch Sofia, and Arizona was able to find two empty seats beside each other on a flight from Seattle Airport the next morning.

She crutched her way into their room, sitting on the bed and donning her prosthesis. She needed to pack.

Just having taken a hot shower, Callie walked out of the steamy bathroom to find Arizona by her dresser and two nearly full suitcases on their bed.

"I packed for you," Arizona explained. "Just the essentials, though. You might want to add more."

Callie waved off the idea, walking over to stand beside Arizona and quickly changing into her pajamas. "It doesn't matter," she finally replied. "But thank you."

Arizona nodded, the look of concern never leaving her face as she inspected Callie's face. She wanted to help, but she didn't know how.

"So," she cleared her throat. "We're all packed and ready, our plane leaves at 8:40 a.m., and we have a room at the Hilton by your mom's hospital in Miami. What do you want to do now?"

Callie closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I don't know. I just...I know I shouldn't be upset, what, with the way my mother's _disowned_ me..."

"It's okay to be upset, Callie," Arizona assured her. "She's still your mom."

Her eyes a raging rainstorm, Callie nodded. "Yeah."

"Is she going to be okay?"

Callie shrugged. "Daddy wouldn't say."

Arizona sighed, understanding that the odds weren't looking good. "Come on. Let's go to bed."

As soon as they were lying down, Arizona opened her arms to Callie, who nearly flung herself into her wife's comforting body.

There, in bed, with Arizona wrapped around her, she felt like _she_, at least, would be okay, even if her mother wouldn't be.

That was reassuring.

* * *

Other than Arizona's nervousness at the departure and landing, the plane ride was fairly pain-free.

The car ride to the hospital, however, was quite a different story.

"What if she doesn't want me there?" Callie jittered, bouncing her knees up and down in the back on the taxi.

"Then you'll say your goodbyes and we'll go," Arizona responded rationally.

Callie huffed. "What if she _does_ want me there? Do I just have to forgive her for refusing to talk to me because I have the ability to fall in love with men _and_ women?"

"Of course you don't," Arizona sighed. She put a loving hand over Callie's knee. "But you should try."

* * *

"Mija, you're here," Carlos welcomed, clearly relieved to see that his daughter and daughter-in-law had come.

"Hi, Daddy," Callie greeted the shorter man back, walking directly into his familiar arms.

Arizona was surprised when she, too, was given a hug. It has taken her years to win the intimidating Father Torres's trust back.

"Your mother will be happy to see you. I'll take you to her."

Callie nodded, and Arizona whispered, "I can stay here if—" but Callie's hand tightening on her own stopped the blonde short, letting her know that her wife wanted and needed her close.

"She's in there," Carlos pointed out a small room once they had gotten to the other side of the hallway. Unlike usual, though, his voice wasn't gruff but uneasy.

"Wait for me here?" Callie asked her wife.

The blonde nodded. "I'll be right here. Take all the time you need."

* * *

"You're here," Lucia stated as soon as the door whispered shut.

"I am," Callie confirmed, slinking down into the chair beside her mom's bedside. "How are you?"

"Bién," her mom answered curtly. "What are you doing here?"

"Daddy said I should come. And I wanted to see you." Callie knit her eyebrows together. "What are you doing in the hospital if you survived a heart attack?"

Lucia pursed her lips. "They took some scans after, and they say my valves are clogged. I need surgery: triple bypass."

Callie lifted her eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

Lucia nodded. "Is your wife here?"

"Of course she is," Callie barked. She had too much to think about, and her mom's judgment was not something she wanted to add to the list.

Triple bypass. Surgery. Even as a surgeon, that worried her. Bypass surgery was serious. She knew many people who never woke up.

Her mother would, though. Of course she would. Up until then, she had been totally healthy. She would be just fine.

"Calliope, I don't want to fight with you," Lucia closed her eyes, searching for the patience she so often had lacked during their thirty seven year relationship.

"I don't either."

"But I'm not going to pretend. You could have been so happy being married to a _good _man, mija. That was the way God meant it to be."

Callie rolled her eyes. She couldn't stand this.

She wanted to leave, but she couldn't. Not when the woman who had loved and supported her for _most_ of her life was lying in a hospital bed.

She made a move to interrupt, but Lucia put up a hand to silence her.

"So I don't love the decision you made. I don't love a lot of your decisions: keeping us out of your marriage to that man, divorcing him, and then all this."

Callie swallowed audibly, biting back her anger. She already knew her mother couldn't stand her.

It just wasn't right. How could who Callie loved matter so much to her mother? Why did it have to ruin everything else? Was it really worth sacrificing their entire relationship.

Lucia concluded, "But I do love you."

Callie inhaled shakily, eyebrows raising. She hadn't heard those words from her mother in a long, long while.

A slight smile tugged at Lucia's lips. "Your father and I have been talking. A lot. Since your wedding. And, as much as I don't understand your life now, you are still my daughter. And you are still a good person.

Callie nodded, elated to hear the kind words but not yet trusting. "I am. And so is Arizona."

Lucia gave a nearly imperceptible bow of her head, conceding. "You are probably right. I've always blamed her for dragging you onto this path—"

"She didn't," Callie interrupted.

"I know. I should've known that wasn't true. You have always been so headstrong and independent," the older woman smiled wistfully, thinking of her daughter as a little girl.

Callie smirked back. This interaction was going much better than she had expected. Immeasurably better, in fact.

"I want a place in your life again, Calliope. Your father and I want to invite your family to spend Christmas with us."

Callie raised her eyebrows. "Really?"

"Really, mija." Lucia laid back on her pillow and closed her eyes. "My surgery is soon, but I would like to speak with Arizona first. Would you send her in?"

Callie nodded carefully. "Okay. I'll be in the waiting room if you need anything. And I'll be here when you wake up."

Lucia smiled and reached for her daughter. Callie easily found a safe haven in her mother's arms, clinging to the woman who—in the last few minutes—had absolved her of so much of her pain.

"Te quiero, coraz_ó_n. I always have and always will."

"I love you, too, Mamá. I'll see you after surgery."

* * *

Arizona shut the door behind her and turned to look at Callie's mom skeptically. "Hi."

Lucia smiled. "Hi. Did Calliope tell you what we talked about?"

Arizona sat down in the chair beside the woman's bed. "She said you made peace." Now in protector mode, she crossed her arms dubiously. "You were set in your ways for a long time. You didn't come to the wedding. You haven't been present. Why now?"

"I caused her a lot of pain," Lucia observed.

"More than you know," Arizona replied honestly. Typically, she liked to put people at ease and be ultra-polite around people who intimidated her (like Lucia). But, now, she found that she was standing her ground. This mattered too much to let her guard down and give the older woman the benefit of the doubt. This was about Callie's happiness and well-being, and that was what mattered most to Arizona right then.

"You really do love her, so I understand your need to protect her."

Arizona stood her ground. "Why now?"

The woman sighed, assessing the situation before deciding to just answer in complete honesty. "I need to protect her, too. The surgeon said that my heart is weak—maybe too weak for bypass. He recommended that I say my goodbyes. Just in case."

That may have been the last thing Arizona had expected to hear, and she was stunned into silence.

"I don't want my daughter to suffer when I'm gone. Whether that happens tonight or in many years, I want her to have good memories."

Arizona stared at the frail looking woman, finally seeing the human in her. Until then, she had only negative memories of the woman causing Callie pain. Now, though, she saw goodness.

The woman may have lied to Arizona's wife about the details, but her intentions were clear: to protect Callie from pain, as much as she possibly could.

Lucia, who had been seemingly unable to bend for her daughter in the past, now had bent over backwards for Callie.

It was clear to Arizona that Lucia still thought that their marriage was wrong. That Arizona was wrong. That their _love_ was wrong. That hadn't changed.

But she was now willing to conceal her beliefs for Callie's sake.

If anything, that was noble.

"Do you think you might die?" Arizona asked, her voice a mere whisper.

"I'm praying that it's not in His plan. But in case it is, I need you to promise me that you will take care of her. She's always needed someone to catch her, and you should be there when she falls, because she only wants you."

Arizona nodded. "I'm not going anywhere."

Lucia bobbed her head briefly, satisfied with Arizona's response. "Good. Now, I need to speak to my husband before surgery."

"We'll be waiting."

* * *

"What did she say to you?!" Callie asked as soon as she saw her wife walking over to her.

They were in a secluded hallway, with Callie sitting on the linoleum floor and Arizona then standing over her.

Callie held her hand out towards the blonde, knowing it was hard for her to maneuver herself onto the floor with a prosthesis, and Arizona graciously took it.

Once they were sitting side by side, her and Callie's arms brushing, Arizona replied with what she'd most taken from her conversation with Lucia. "That she loves you."

Callie couldn't control the grin that spread over her face. She was so grateful for how the day had ended up turning out. She sighed contently, leaning her head on Arizona's soft shoulder. "She said that she wants us to spend Christmas down here. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"It would be," Arizona agreed vaguely. Callie didn't seem to be worried about the surgery, and that worried her. "Callie?"

"Hmm?" Callie asked.

"What about the surgery?"

"What about it?" Callie attempted to clarify, confused. Why was Arizona bringing that up? It'd be over in a few hours.

"You're not at all worried?"

Callie sat back and took in Arizona's concerned face.

"I mean, a little. But the mortality rate is only 3.3%. And she's been healthy up until now."

Arizona bit her lip. She hoped Callie was right.

"Anyway," Callie shrugged, smiling slightly, "I feel like we've reached our pain quota, you know? We've been through more in the last ten years than some lucky people have in their lifetimes."

Arizona chuckled. "That is a fair point, but I'm still going to send good thoughts her way."

Callie nodded, shutting her eyes. "Me, too."

* * *

"Callie?" Arizona rubbed her wife's shoulder gently. "Callie? Wake up."

"Mmm," Callie moaned in disapproval, having forgotten that it wasn't just a normal night.

"Callie," Arizona whispered, "We should go find your dad. Your mom's surgery is probably almost over, if not already."

This woke up Callie, as she remembered that, in fact, this was no normal night. Her mom was having heart surgery, perhaps right at that moment.

Hands clasped between them, Callie and Arizona walked down the hospital hallways towards the waiting room where they expected Carlos to be.

But Carlos was nowhere to be found.

"Do you think he's in her room with her?" Callie asked.

"Maybe," Arizona commented, but she had a sinking feeling in her chest.

"Let's go," Callie pulled Arizona down another hallway and towards the room where they had talked to Lucia a few hours prior.

They walked into the hospital room, and as Callie had suggested, Carlos was there.

The bed, however, was empty. Her mother was nowhere in sight.

"Daddy?" Callie carefully put her hand on her father's shoulder. "What are you doing in here? Where's mom?"

Slowly, the corpse of a man turned to look at his daughter, his face ashen and his eyes far, far away.

Immediately, Callie's stomach bottomed out. Her face turned more pale than Arizona had ever seen it. "No."

Carlos shook his head. "The surgeon said that, when he took her off bypass, he couldn't restart her heart."

"No!" Callie repeated. It couldn't be.

Arizona held out her arms in midair, feeling an uncontrollable compulsion to comfort her wife somehow.

She couldn't even imagine Callie's pain.

"No! She's fine!" Callie screeched. "Where is she?!"

"Callie..." Arizona pleaded. Carlos was still set in stone.

Callie turned to her. "She was fine," she cried, falling into her wife's waiting arms.

Callie sobbed loudly into Arizona's chest, and Carlos sat mutely on the white bed.

Her mother was dead. His wife was dead.

They were in immeasurable plain, and Arizona was helpless to stop it.

If she could swallow Callie's pain—if she could feel it, digest it, herself—she would.

But she couldn't. She couldn't do anything to help but be there.

A new onslaught of tears piercing Callie's eyes, she disentangled herself from Arizona's arms and stole a look at her father.

Carlos, who had always been a man of control and constant action, was clearly at a loss. He was only staring at the empty hospital bed, as if expecting her late wife to magically fall into it, alive and well.

"Daddy?"

He tore his stare away from the empty bed, looking into Callie's eyes, his own equally bloodshot.

"You said Aria's in Paris. You should call her and tell her."

The old man nodded, taking out his phone and regretfully informing his other daughter of the devastating news.

Callie grabbed Arizona's hand, and the blonde squeezed her wife's in love and support.

Arizona gingerly walked them towards the small couch, where Callie's head immediately fell onto her shoulder.

"How much longer do you want to stay?" Arizona whispered.

Callie closed her eyes. "I just need to make sure my dad gets home. Then we can go."

Arizona nodded. "Okay."

* * *

After Carlos hung up the phone, Callie made arrangements for her mother's body to be sent to a funeral home, and then she, Arizona, and Carlos piled into her father's small Porsche. With Callie's expert direction, Arizona drove to her wife's grand childhood home.

And it was _grand_. It was in a neighborhood full of old, Westchester-looking mansions, but the Torres' property was particularly imposing.

It felt strange that Arizona had never been there before, but she understood why more than she ever had. _This_...wasn't Callie. Clearly, Callie had attempted to distance herself from _this_ way of life as much as she could have. She wanted to live a different life, and she wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet.

"Come on, Daddy," the sound of Callie's voice interrupted Arizona's thoughts. "Let's get you inside."

In the passenger seat, Carlos shook his head. "I'm fine, Calliope. You two should get home to Sofia."

"But we sh—" Callie objected.

Carlos leveled a look at his daughter. "Mija, I'll be okay. I promise. I just want to be alone."

"Daddy..." Callie pleaded.

Carlos shook his head. "Call me tomorrow. I'll be okay. Your mother is dead, but I still have Aria and you." He smiled towards Arizona, who carefully smiled back. "And your family." He turned back to Callie. "I'll see you soon, okay, mija?"

Callie tried to muster up a smile. She was worried about her father. How could she not be? "Okay." She wrapped her arms around her father, who suddenly seemed so small. While, when she was younger, he used to tower over her, now she was taller.

This man had a strong spirit—that was blatantly obvious, especially now—but he was not indestructible.

And, like Callie's mom, he would not live forever.

* * *

Carlos had insisted that they borrow his car rather than take a taxi, so once he was safely inside, Callie and Arizona drove the short distance to their hotel. It was already almost morning, and so much had happened in the past twenty-four hours.

In the elevator up to their room, Arizona put her hand on the small of Callie's back. "What do you want to do? I didn't know what was going to happen with all this, so I didn't reserve us a flight home, yet. We can leave as soon or as late as you want."

Callie exhaled heavily, pausing for a lifetime before answering. "I don't know," she replied shakily. "Whatever you want."

The elevator doors opened as they reached their floor, but neither woman made a move to exit. Finally, Arizona gently led her wife to their room

Callie was an emotional person. She always had been. She felt everything deeply and cared immensely. It was part of what had first drawn Arizona to the brunette, who in many ways, was so different from herself.

So if Callie wanted or needed to cry, Arizona was going to give her the space to do that.

Arizona shut the hotel door behind them and turned to look at Callie, who was standing in the middle of the room.

"Callie..." Arizona worried. "Sit down. I'm ordering dinner." By now, it was really breakfast, but it felt like time had stood still for them this past day.

Limbs robotic, Callie scuffed backwards, sitting back on the mattress as soon as the backs of her knees hit the bed.

As soon as Arizona hung up the phone, she came to sit beside Callie.

After a moment of weighty eye contact, Callie asked, "Can we take a quick nap until the food comes?"

Arizona smiled softly. "Anything you want." She stood up and moved to the other side of the bed, pulling back the blankets to lie beneath them. Callie did the same, each woman then kicking off her shoes before climbing inside.

Lying face to face, hands immediately clasping and limbs wordlessly tangling, Callie and Arizona found warmth in the King-sized bed and in each other.

"Thank you for being here," Callie whispered.

To which Arizona promised, "I will always be here."

* * *

The first few days home were hard for Callie. Despite her father's and sister's pleas, she had opted not to attend the funeral. She wanted her last memories of her previously estranged mother to be good ones: and they were.

Her last memories of her mother were sweet and loving, and Callie didn't want them to be tainted by attending a morose funeral filled with aristocratic people who would think far more about appearances than they would of deceased Lucia.

Instead, upon Bailey's insistence, Callie had opted to take several days off from work to mope around and grieve.

"We're home!" Arizona called, walking through the doorway, Sofia skipping along beside her.

From the couch, Callie smiled. She was still sad, but she needed to put on a brave face for Sofia. "How was school today, Sof?"

"It was good," the little girl replied. "I got Austin out during Four Square!"

"You did?!"

"Yeah!"

"Go girl!" Callie exclaimed proudly. "Come here, give your mom a hug."

And Sofia did so happily, then ran off to go get ready for bed.

Callie stood up, walking towards Arizona. "How was work?"

Arizona shrugged. "Hunt, Pierce, and I had to operate on this kid whose twin brother accidently shot him through the heart with their dad's hunting rifle. I've had better days."

"He didn't make it?" Callie asked carefully, soothingly running her hands down Arizona's arms.

Arizona shook her head.

Callie sighed sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Arizona attempted to smile. She didn't want Callie to worry about her in the face of her own trauma. Since becoming a pediatric surgeon, Arizona had become accustomed to kids being too far gone to survive surgery and to thoughts of tiny coffins.

She backed out of Callie's arms, not wanting to cry. "I'm going to put Sof to bed. Then I'm all yours."

Callie nodded in understanding, letting Arizona walk away and then plopping back down onto the couch to resume wallowing. It just wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that people had to die.

It wasn't fair that her mother had to die.

It wasn't fair that someone who raised her and loved her and hurt her and loved her again had to die.

"Callie?" Arizona asked from beside her on the couch. How long had she been there?

"Hmm?" Callie asked.

"You're hurting," Arizona observed, her voice a black night breeze. "I was asking how I could make you feel better."

Callie looked at her wife, all doe eyes and pink lips and cheeks that dimpled just for her, and she thought of one thing that might help.

Before Arizona could process what was happening, Callie's insistent lips were on hers, strong caramel hands roughly roaming everywhere, and she couldn't breathe.

Arizona put her hands on Callie's chest, shoving away from her. "Callie, what are you—"

"You asked how you could make me feel better," Callie explained between short breaths. "This is how."

Arizona exhaled heavily. _This_ was not a good idea. She herself was well-versed in the art of using sex to attempt to circumvent grief. She'd done so when her brother died. She'd done so when Nick died.

She'd used it to avoid fighting with Callie, too. On multiple occasions. And, though it had been a good distraction, it didn't really help.

And, after everything they'd been through, Callie and Arizona had promised to communicate. To really, truly communicate. Through words, whenever possible. So sex right then was not a good idea.

"_After everything we've been through...after everything we've survived _this week...can't we just—"

"'After everything _we've_ been through'?" Callie interrupted indignantly. "Your patient died, sure. But your mom didn't die."

"Callie..."

"What?" Callie spat. "After you cheated on me, you said I couldn't say that _we_'d had a tough year because I wasn't on the plane."

"Don't," Arizona pleaded. Callie was being uncharacteristically nasty.

"What?" Callie feigned ignorance. "Don't you remember?"

"Of course I remember!" Arizona exclaimed. "But you don't get _to do_ this. You don't get to bring up old, long-forgiven wounds. You don't get to hurt me just because you hurt."

"I'm just trying to understand," Callie argued. "Why is what you just said any different from what I said that night?"

Arizona sighed, attempting to maintain her level head. "It's not." She reached out for Callie's hand, but the brunette yanked it out of the blonde's grasp.

Callie was upset, so she was picking a fight. She knew that, but she still felt unable to stop herself.

"It's no different," Arizona repeated. "You were right before; just like I'm right now. There's no 'I' in marriage. It's always _our_ and _we_. _Our_ house. _Our_ daughter. _We_ love each other. _We_ can do this together. I shouldn't have blamed you for acting like you were a plane crash victim, because you were one. We were married, so my pain was your pain. My _loss_ was your loss."

Callie inhaled shakily, her heart thrumming in her chest.

So close, Arizona reached out towards Callie again, setting her hand on her wife's thigh. And, this time, Callie didn't wretch away from her.

"It's the same now," Arizona continued. "_We've_ been through a lot this week, because your pain is my pain, and your loss is my loss. When you're happy, I'm happy, Callie. And, when you're hurting, I really, really hurt."

Callie set her hand over Arizona's, never breaking eye contact with the cerulean eyes that were searing holes through her protective walls and defense system.

"My mom didn't die, but yours did. And, more than anything, I wish I could take your pain away, but all I can do is feel it with you." She lightly rubbed her thumb over Callie's thigh. "So as long as you're suffering, I'm suffering with you. Just as the opposite was true after the plane crash. Okay?"

Callie nodded slowly as Arizona's honest words sunk in. "I'm sorry."

Arizona offered a hint of a smile. "I forgive you." She paused. "Now, would you please tell me what you're thinking?"

"I don't know how," Callie whined in exasperation. She wanted to be able to talk to Arizona, but everything was so jumbled in her head.

"Try," Arizona requested.

"It's just..." Callie sighed. "I wrote her out of my life, you know? She stopped talking to me, and I stopped letting myself thinking of her. I stopped making plans."

Arizona nodded.

"And that was fine. I mean, it wasn't. But it was fine. I had you and Sofia and my dad and eventually Aria, and that was enough."

Arizona continued to listen in silence, beginning to understand where Callie was going with this.

"But then, right before her surgery, she somehow got written back in. She apologized and said she wanted us to spend Christmas with her and my dad! So I started making plans again. And that made her dying so much harder than it would have been if I kept trying to hate her and forget about her."

Arizona moved closer to Callie, wanting to give her wife every bit of physical and emotional support she could.

She understood Callie's pain. She could empathize, having gone through something similar with Nick. Writing someone back into your life made it so much harder. She understood that.

"I'm so sorry, Callie." Arizona put her arm around Callie's back, softly urging the larger woman to lean on her.

Callie willingly settled her head into the space between Arizona's neck and shoulder, breathing her in. "I just need a few more days to be sad. Then, I'll be relieved to have gotten some good final moments with her. Then, I'll be good again."

Arizona burrowed her face in Callie's hair, inhaling the black tendrils. "Then _we'll_ be good again," she corrected. "When you're good, I'm good."


	76. Chapter 76

**Okay, y'all. There is an "M" rating on this series for a reason. Keep that in mind.**

**If you're not into that, stop reading after the line break (not this next one, but the one after that).**

**Set Season 27. Just kidding. But set a decade in the future.**

**If you enjoy, _please_ leave reviews! I love any and all feedback!**

* * *

"You're home!" Callie grinned from beside the kitchen stove as Arizona walked through the doorway.

"Yeah. Hey," Arizona offered a relieved smile at being home as she walked towards her wife, giving her a quick routine peck on the lips in greeting. "Sofia?"

"Doing homework in her room," Callie replied to the slightly frazzled looking blonde. "Hey," she set down her ladle and rested a soothing hand on Arizona's coat-covered shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

Arizona nodded. "I just have to talk to you after dinner."

Callie felt her stomach drop. Her throat went dry. Her body tensed. She raised her eyebrows, giving Arizona a look of sheer panic.

"Nothing to worry about, though," Arizona quickly assured her. "I'm gonna go say hi to Sof."

"Okay," Callie conceded carefully, agonizing over what might be on her wife's mind. I_ just have to talk to you_ sounded a lot like _we have to talk_, and when had anything good ever come from _those_ words? "Dinner will be ready in five," she added as Arizona walked away.

For Callie, dinner was excruciating. Sofia gabbed about her friend Maddie's annoying new boyfriend the entire time, but the older brunette found that she couldn't focus on what her daughter was saying.

She could only keep stealing cautious looks at Arizona, who in turn was avoiding her worried brown eyes.

What was going on with her?

As soon as she had shoveled her last bite into her mouth, cutting dinner short, Callie insisted, "Alright, Sof, you're on dish duty tonight."

"What? Why?" the teenager whined.

Callie gave her a stern look. She had embraced her role as Bad Cop over the years. "Because I cooked, and your mom has something serious to talk to me about." Callie then leveled a stare at Arizona, who cringed.

In truth, what Arizona had to say wasn't a _huge_ deal, and she regretted having led Callie to believe it was by mentioning it to her earlier.

Sofia sympathetically knit her eyebrows together, turning to look at Arizona. "Mom...? Is everything okay?"

Arizona gave her concerned daughter a genuine smile. "Everything's fine, sweetie. I promise."

Sofia nodded, but the look of consternation didn't leave her eyes. "Okay. I'll do the dishes."

"Good girl," Callie praised. "We'll be in the living room if you need more help with homework."

And, with that, she began walking towards the living room, both comforted and haunted by the sound of Arizona's footsteps dragging behind her.

It all felt very, very wrong, and Callie was terrified of what Arizona would say.

Once they were sitting down, hands instantaneously clasped between them, Arizona sighed, "Callie, you're worrying."

Callie made an attempt at a smirk, but nothing felt funny about the situation. "Well, yeah. You came home all stressed out, saying you needed to talk to me. What happened?!"

"It's not a big deal. It's just something I think you should know."

Callie tightened her hold on Arizona's small, supple hand, searching her eyes. "_What_ is something you think I should know?"

Arizona exhaled loudly in preparation before clinically recounting the situation to her wife. "Last week, I noticed that this old mole on my chest had changed shape and looked suspicious, so I made an appointment and got it checked out. Dr. Jameson in Derm did a biopsy, and it turns out that there are some squamous cells there—which, as you know, are cancerous. We caught it early, so it's not fatal or anything, but I'm having minor surgery next week to get the mole and cells removed."

Callie's eyes continued widening with every word. She felt like she was going to be sick. "You have skin cancer?" Was that what her wife was saying?

Patiently, Arizona replied, "No. Well, yes, technically. But just a few cells in that one spot. And I won't after they're removed. Jackson said he'd do the surgery himself; it'll take a half hour, and then we'll be done with it." Arizona paused, taking in Callie's pained expression. "Callie, it's not a big deal! My mom used to get these all the time. It just happens when you have light skin and used to spend a lot of time out in the sun."

"Arizona, you have cancer."

Arizona rolled her eyes. Why was Callie being so crazy about this? She had cancerous _cells_, and soon, they would be gone. "And I won't after Tuesday. Seriously, as soon as the surgery's over, the cancerous cells will be gone, and I'll be as good as new. Okay?" She moved her hand to rub her wife's back soothingly. Everything would be fine.

Callie sighed and nodded, finally accepting Arizona's reassuring words. It was funny, though, really. Wasn't she supposed to be the one comforting Arizona?

"You'll be as good as new," Callie repeated unsteadily.

"Exactly," Arizona smiled. More than anything, she loved how deeply her wife cared, but really, this wasn't something worth worrying about.

"Can I be there...with you?" Callie asked gently after a long moment. "When you get the cells removed?"

Arizona made a face. "I don't know why you'd want to be. But if it'd make you feel better—"

"It would," Callie interrupted quickly.

"Then of course," Arizona assured her. "I'd love having a hand to hold." In truth, she didn't care one way or another, given it was such a small operation. Still, she acted thankful for her wife's benefit. If it would soothe Callie's nerves, then it was worth it.

Callie closed her eyes, finally exhaling evenly, absolving her own cells of anxiety. "Okay."

Arizona smiled softly, bringing her hand up to cup her wife's caramel cheek. "Hey, it's fine, see? You feel better?"

Callie nodded. She silently put her hand on Arizona's knee, wanting to feel as much of the other woman as she could. Wanting to hold onto her forever.

The last time she had felt such a physical _need_ to protect her wife from pain and hurt and _life _itself had been years ago, but she found then that the feeling was once again all-consuming.

Arizona had already been through so much. She was so, so strong, but that didn't mean it was right for her to have to jump over yet another hurdle, Callie thought.

Both women stared deeply into each other's eyes, just thinking of how entirely they loved the other, and Callie felt a pinch behind hers as they welled with thankful tears.

"Callie..." Arizona breathed. More than anything, she hated it when her wife cried. She held her arms out towards her. "Come here."

Callie gratefully fell into them, clinging to Arizona with everything she had as the blonde's arms tightened around her back, pulling the larger woman deep into her safe embrace.

The thought of ever losing each other—after everything they'd been through—was unbearable. Even if it was inevitable.

Because they were _it_ for one another. Together—and only then—were they home.

"I love you," Callie murmured into a soft porcelain shoulder.

Arizona smiled, inhaling delicious thick black hair. "I know. I love you, too."

It was then that Sofia walked into the room, finding her mothers clinging needily to one another in a tight embrace. "Moms..." she worried suspiciously. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

Quickly, Callie and Arizona pulled away from each other, blushing a little sheepishly.

"Yeah," Callie smiled genuinely. "Your mom just has to get this little minor surgery."

Sofia sat down in the chair across from them. "For what?"

"I have a little skin cancer on my chest, Sof," Arizona clarified. "And it's not bad right now, but if I hadn't noticed it, it could have been. So I need to get the bad cells removed."

Sofia's big brown eyes widened, and for a second, she looked just like Callie had earlier. A perfect little miniature. Who, like Callie, tended to worry. "_Cancer_?"

Arizona smiled lovingly at her daughter. "Yeah, but it'll be gone after Tuesday. Really."

Sofia shrugged, accepting her mom's sincere response. "Okay. You're right, then. It's not a huge deal." She stood up from her chair. "I'm going to bed; I'll wake up early to finish my Geometry homework."

Quickly, she hugged Callie, muttering, "Goodnight," then she hugged Arizona.

Arizona squeezed Sofia back. "I love you."

The teenager rolled her eyes a little at her mother's sudden affection, but she was genuine when she replied, "Love you, too, Mom. Goodnight."

"Night!" Callie and Arizona called in unison after her.

"She's getting so big," Arizona pouted after she was sure Sofia was out of earshot.

"I know," Callie sighed. "Make it stop."

"Wish I could," Arizona grinned. She turned to Callie. "So, what now?"

Callie tapped her chin, pretending to think. "How about...you take off your pants."

"Oh?" Arizona raised a suggestive eyebrow.

Callie laughed. "Not like that. You walked in limping, tonight. Let me massage your leg."

Arizona scowled. "I got so excited."

"You love my massages!"

"True," Arizona surrendered.

"Come on," Callie stood up, offering her hand out to the blonde, who appreciatively took it.

Together, they walked towards their bedroom, where they quickly changed into t-shirts and pajama shorts, washed their faces, and brushed their teeth before relaxing at last.

Arizona deftly removed her prosthesis, sighing contentedly as she laid back against her pillow. "I swear, every kid in Seattle decided to injure themselves today. The ER was crazy."

Callie hummed sympathetically as she sat on the edge of Arizona's side of the bed, beside her pained appendage. "Alex wasn't there?"

"No!" Arizona complained. "He had the day off, and this year's interns are particularly useless."

Callie looked down at her wife's leg, seeing that, in fact, it was red and swollen from a busy, exhausting day. She cringed. "You were just running around all day, huh?"

"Yeah," Arizona sighed, throwing her arm over closed eyes. Her leg was most definitely sore. She was scared to even inspect the damage.

"Yuck," Callie grumbled. She ghosted her fingers down Arizona's thigh, not wanting to start too hard. "You ready?"

Eyes still closed, Arizona nodded. "Thank you, Callie."

Callie smiled. Contrary to what Arizona seemed to think, she never minded massaging her wife's leg. The blonde always thought Callie was doing her a favor, but to Callie, it had always felt more as if Arizona was doing _her_ one.

That was both because she benevolently loved doing anything she could to make Arizona feel better, and less altruistically, because she loved receiving her share of positive reinforcement through her wife's innocent but somehow erotic appreciative sighs and moans throughout the duration.

Gently, she began kneading Arizona's thigh, her strong thumbs applying circular pressure unabidingly and in just the right spots.

"Mmm," Arizona moaned when Callie hit a particularly pained spot. "Yes! Right there."

Callie grinned cheekily. God, she would be happy massaging that woman forever. As her thumbs continued to push down into the deep muscle tissue, she heard Arizona's breathing shift from even to ragged.

"Too hard?" Callie asked worriedly, easing up on the pressure without stopping her ministrations.

"No," Arizona exhaled unevenly. "It feels so good."

At that, Callie felt her core clench unconsciously, all the blood coming to settle there. She really loved making Arizona feel good. "That's the goal," she replied, her voice a husky whisper. "Just try to feel good."

* * *

Arizona only hummed contently in response, relaxing deep into the cushiony bed and savoring the feeling of Callie's strong helping hands.

For a long time, years before, Arizona hadn't completely allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of Callie rubbing her amputation site when it was sore. She had usually accepted her wife's giving offer to help, sure, but she had never been entirely able to stop the intrusive thoughts of Callie being the one to hack off the remainder of her leg.

Those thoughts had made it difficult for her to relax into the comfort, and understandingly so.

But now, years after learning the truth, Arizona easily fell victim to relaxation and sleepiness as Callie continued running her fingers over her sore red skin.

Slowly, however, Callie's long fingers began moving higher and higher, until finally one hand rested on each upper thigh, her thumbs rubbing erogenous circles over porcelain inner thighs.

Sometime between Arizona's labored breathing and moans of appreciation, she had gotten the idea to please the blonde in a different way.

As Arizona felt that Callie's hot hands had migrated far beyond her sore stump, she popped an eye open and knowingly prompted, "Callie...?"

As she looked up, meeting Callie's tender eyes, the sight instantly wiped the playful smile off her face, nearly taking her breath away.

The way her wife was looking at her was...indescribable. Callie was looking at her with something that could only be described as _reverence_. Complete and utter reverence.

Callie was looking at her as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world.

And somehow, in that moment, looking at Callie looking at her, Arizona felt like she was.

But before she realized what was happening, Callie's body was covering hers, her body heat and curves taut against her own.

Callie leaned down, close enough to kiss her but not making contact. Arizona impatiently brought her hands around Callie's neck, pulling her down and locking her lips with plump red ones.

Callie moaned into the contact, instantly retaliating by caressing Arizona's smooth lips with her own, gently easing the tip of her tongue inside a warm mouth, where it was instantly met with Arizona's.

Grabbing at Arizona's waist, Callie shifted her position, lying between slim thighs and never breaking her mouth away.

Their kissing—which had begun at a leisurely, languorous rhythm—slowly morphed into something more needy as teeth scraped over lips and short breaths flowed between mouths.

Within minutes, Arizona's hands moved to grab Callie's bottom, forcing the woman more tightly against her as she lifted her hips in search of delicious pressure where she most needed it.

Smiling into the kiss at Arizona's lecherousness, Callie pulled away slightly, their foreheads still resting together. "Does this feel good?" Callie asked, her voice betraying surprising sincerity, rather than mischievousness.

"Yes," Arizona murmured, lifting her head slightly off the pillow to bring her lips back to Callie's. "Really good."

Callie gaily brought her face down to meet her wife's lips, their tongues once again sliding against each other, their mouths fitting together in a way that only theirs ever had.

Arizona's hands began roaming, first over striped pajama shorts, then snaking under Callie's shirt to feel the hot skin of her back, carousing in the feel of her hard curved spine and soft iliac crest. She brought her hands to Callie's stomach, reveling in its cushion and warmth. She felt her entire body tingle with anticipation as she considered how it felt to have her wife's gorgeous naked stomach against her own, skin on skin.

She brought her hands to the hem of Callie's shirt, pulling up until Callie momentarily pulled away to lift it over her head, equally as eager to feel all of Arizona.

Seeing Callie completely topless and leaning over her, Arizona felt her nerves engorge. In the almost seventeen years Arizona had known her wife, her delight in seeing the caramel woman topless had never lessened. If anything, it'd become even more considerable; she appreciated it more and more as Callie continued to gracefully age.

As soon as Callie's body was back on hers, Arizona was lifting up her shirt—somewhat ineffectually—needing skin-to-skin contact.

Breaking her lips away, Arizona pulled her shirt off entirely, a groan falling from her lips as Callie's hands immediately moved to her breasts, her thumbs running over suddenly hard nipples with complete veneration.

Arizona, never shy in the bedroom, pulled Callie's hair slightly, and Callie, knowing Arizona well, lowered her head so that her lips encircled a tight nipple, alternating between sucking and nipping at it, biting and rolling her tongue over it, in a way that she knew always drove the blonde crazy.

As Arizona's hips began jumping up against her, begging for friction, Callie smiled, slowly moving her focus to loll her tongue over the opposite nipple, feeling it harden against her capable tongue.

She looked up, wanting to gauge her wife's reaction, and blue eyes met hers, a mixture of overpowering love and overpowering desire emanating from the deep oceans of cerulean blue.

Excruciatingly slowly, Callie began peppering kisses down a flat abdomen, her fingers teasing the skin beneath the hem of her shorts and underwear. "How about this? Does this feel good?" she asked salaciously.

Arizona nodded profusely, wanting to hurry Callie along. She was all for slow, sensual sex when the situation called for it, but really, she'd had a long day. And she was ready to come. Now.

Callie, however, seemed to be determined to take their romantic tryst as slowly as possible, even if that meant that Arizona was on the brink of actual physical pain because of it.

"Callie..." Arizona begged.

Smirking, Callie finally gave in, pulling down what was left of Arizona's clothing and giving herself a clear view of her pink, glistening center in front of her.

Then, she stood up on the bed, quickly tearing off her own shorts and leaving them both nude and vulnerable.

With Arizona writhing in desperation to Callie's satisfaction, she finally laid back on top of her, one of her thighs falling between each of the blonde's.

Arizona's hands immediately wrapped around Callie's waist, preventing her from moving. And Callie leaned down, once again capturing her wife's now-swollen lips with her own.

Their lips noisily moving against each other's, their nails scraping up each other's sides, their breaths morphing into gasps soon wasn't enough, and Arizona arched her back, pulling Callie against her so that a tanned thigh made direct contact with her bundle of nerves.

She released a guttural moan, roughly biting Callie's shoulder to avoid waking up Sofia, and it wasn't long before their hips were moving fast against each other, finding an easy, familiar rhythm that never failed to lead them both to their peak.

"Does...this...feel...good?" Callie panted, working to keep her own desire in check. That night was about Arizona, and she didn't want to orgasm a second before her.

At that question—one with an obvious answer—Arizona let out a laugh that quickly tapered off into a moan. She was close. So close. "S—So good."

Callie smiled but, to Arizona's dismay, stopped undulating her hips and instead moved her hands to lovingly cup Arizona's face.

God, Arizona was beautiful. Sweaty hair stuck to her forehead, cheeks pink with exertion, and lips bruised, but still, Callie swore that it was the most gorgeous the blonde had ever looked; then again, she couldn't help but think that every time she looked at her.

Her smile widened, because she knew that she would continue to feel that way for the rest of their lives—always increasingly amazed by her beauty—and that was a wonderful thought.

Callie traced soft lips with her thumb, and Arizona worked to slow the cadence of her hips, noticing her wife's sudden change of pace.

"I want to make you feel good," Callie purred, her voice filled with emotion. "You have to have a minor surgery and you're going to hurt, and I can't do anything about that. But I can make you feel good now."

Arizona smiled, her pulsing heartbeat radiating out towards her fingers and toes, her blood pooling in her heart and clitoris at her wife's tender words.

Callie began moving against Arizona again, wanting to put action behind her words. She brought her lips back to Arizona's, wanting to pour all of her love into their kiss.

As Arizona's tongue slipped back into her mouth, Callie moaned. Never in her life would she love any taste more than the blonde. It was the one taste she would never get tired of.

Pulling away slightly, she worked to catch some air as her and Arizona's short, panting breaths mingled between them. "I...want...to make you feel good so badly, Arizona" she breathed.

Arizona moaned, her hips moving faster and faster. She was so close.

"What...do you want?" Callie asked, still panting. "How do you want me...to make you feel good?"

Arizona didn't want to answer. She didn't want to think about anything but how good she was feeling then. She was so, so close. She could feel her ears ringing and her body tingling and her bundle of nerves pulsing in anticipation. She was so close. She had to keep reminding herself to breathe.

Because really, this wasn't how she wanted to come that night. She wanted to feel all of Callie. She wanted Callie to feel all of her. And she wanted them to get to the edge together.

"I want...to feel you," Arizona gasped, forcing her hips back down onto the sweat-soaked bed. "Please, Callie."

Callie grinned, knowing just what Arizona meant. She'd been hoping her wife would say that; she'd craved the very same thing.

Which only reaffirmed for the hundredth time how copacetic they'd been since the time they had reconciled, nearly a decade before. Since then, they always seemed to be on the same page, in terms of their hopes and dreams, their parenting, and now, even their choice of position when making love.

Callie wasted no time parting Arizona's thighs, her own resting on either side of white hips, her center hovering over her wife's. She ran her nails up Arizona's damp skin, over her thighs, up her abdomen, over the beautiful, sun-damaged skin of her chest, and finally up to cradle her face. "I love you."

Arizona dimpled, her eyes gleaming. "I love _you_." She brought her hands to Callie's hips and forced them down against her, manipulating them so that they moved in a way that Callie's hot, wet center rubbed blissfully against her own.

"Mmm," Arizona whimpered. "Now, _please, Callie_," she pleaded, her voice haggard. "Make me feel good."

Callie groaned at Arizona's uninhibited pleas, spreading her thighs impossibly wider and circling her hips as she pushed herself against the blonde, determined to fulfill her promise.

"Like this?" she asked once their hips found a heavenly rhythm.

"Mmm, Calliope," Arizona whimpered. "Yes. Harder." She pulled Callie down towards her.

As Callie fell forward, their bundles of nerves began rubbing each other directly, and they groaned simultaneously. They continued to build up a rhythm, grinding against each other as hands and lips explored flushed skin.

"Arizona..."

"Callie!" Arizona cried out. "Don't...stop."

Callie shuddered. She didn't think she would have been able to stop if she tried. "I won't," she vowed, circling her hips faster and harder, feeling Arizona's distended clitoris nudging against her own. She was so close.

"I'm so close, Cal," Arizona groaned. "Kiss me."

Callie didn't hesitate, crushing her lips against Arizona's and thrusting down a few more times, rubbing their bodies together with all the energy she had left.

"Callie!" A high pitch scream of pleasure ripped from Arizona's throat as she came, her eyes rolling back in total bliss.

At her wife's expression of obvious pleasure, along with the new stream of wetness she felt streaming down her thigh, Callie was sent over the edge, moaning, "Yessss, Arizona!"

Her body trembled and convulsed until she collapsed on top of Arizona, her body drained and happily sated.

Beneath her, Arizona continued rolling her hips, helping them both ride out their orgasms for a full minute of blinding ecstasy.

Callie kissed Arizona's salty neck as she regained her breath, then finally lazily rolled off the blonde and onto the bed, laying on her back.

Arizona turned her head towards Callie, still out of breath. "We still got it."

Callie laughed, turning to face her and running her hand down Arizona's side. "Damn right we do."

Arizona sighed contently. "That was _awesome_," she dimpled. "You definitely know how to make me feel good."

Callie grinned, a strange sense of pride welling up inside her. "I could say the same about you."

Arizona turned her body to face Callie's, intertwining their legs and pulling the brunette against her. She leaned upwards, and they shared a sweet lingering kiss.

When Arizona pulled away, she looked at Callie with an incredible expression that the brunette would never tire of: just marveling her, as if she were a miraculous waterfall. Or a Moroccan sunset.

Or the eighth Wonder of the World.

Or the only person who existed. The only person Arizona wanted or needed. The only person she'd ever really see.

Leisurely, Arizona's lips drew up in a wholehearted smile. "Now, how can I make _you_ feel good?"

Callie's eyes twinkled, and she leaned down, placing a soft kiss on Arizona's forehead. "I already do. All the time."

Arizona curiously implored magical brown eyes, wondering what she meant.

In response, Callie kissed her freckled shoulder, clarifying, "Loving you feels good."

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! I'm currently on vacation in Kauai, so I got to write this on the beach. Hehe.**

**Again, please review this if you like! (Or if you don't!)**

**Hope everyone's doing well.**


	77. Chapter 77

**Hi all!**

**Here are a few minifics. (Inspired by a prompt list on Tumblr!)**

**Let me know what you think.**

* * *

**Things you said when you were drunk. (Set post 11x05)**

"Hello?" Arizona picked up her cell phone as she neared her destination.

"Hey!" came the voice on the other end of the line. "Are you almost here? Because I'm already at the bar, getting drunk without you."

Arizona laughed. "I'm coming. I'm right outside."

"Yay!" cheered the voice of Teddy Altman, who quickly hung up and ordered six tequila shots, three for each of them. She wasn't in the mood to talk that night. She wanted to drink.

After only a minute of polite pleasantries, Teddy motioned to the shots. "Drink up. I'm going to cry, and I'm going to be embarrassed if you remember it tomorrow."

"Teddy…" Arizona pitied.

"Nope," Teddy put up a finger. "Drink."

Conceding to her visiting friend's request, Arizona downed the three shots, making a face as the alcohol burned her throat. Thankfully, she had the day off the next day, and Sofia was with Callie for the weekend.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Arizona asked, beginning to feel the alcohol course through her.

"No!" Teddy cried. "What's there to talk about? Every person I love either leaves me or dies. Like, seriously. First there was Owen: left me for Cristina. Then Henry. And now Major Paulsen: blown to smithereens!" Teddy set her arms on the bar and settled her head onto them. She was sad, and she was drunk. Not a good combination.

"Teddy…" Arizona soothed, rubbing her friend's back. "I'm sorry."

"To make matters worse," Teddy slurred, lifting her head and glaring at Arizona. "My aspirational couple broke up—divorced. What the hell is wrong with you two?"

Arizona cringed. "You know everything that's happened…"

"I don't care!" Teddy interrupted. "You can get through it. I married my husband before I even liked him, and we ended up being so happy, while it lasted. You loved each other from the start, and you still do. You still love her, right?"

"Yeah," Arizona sighed. "I do."

* * *

**Things you said when you thought I was asleep. (Set early S9)**

Callie had been watching Arizona sleep. She'd been doing that a lot lately, just admiring her in her vulnerable, unconscious state, completely unguarded.

Since the plane crash, they'd been taking steps forward. Talking to one another again. Enjoying each other's company again. And, most recently, sharing a bed again.

Which was progress. It was an important step. But intimacy, trust—both physical and emotional—had yet to be rebuilt. So, there Callie was, carefully crossing over into Arizona's space for the first time since everything had gone so wrong.

"I miss you," she exhaled, bringing her hand up to lightly curl a loose strand of blonde hair behind a porcelain ear. "And I love you," she sighed. "And I'll be here when you come back to me, again. Just please, Arizona…Come back to me, again."

* * *

**Things you didn't say at all. (Set post-11x05)**

"Arizona," Callie sighed. This was all too hard. Too hard to explain. Too hard to comprehend. Most of all, too hard to feel. "I walked out of therapy that day, not because I didn't love you, but because I do."

Arizona raised her eyebrows. "Then why did you-"

"I was holding you back!" Callie exclaimed. "We both were. I want you to be happy-it's all I want-but I knew that you weren't with me. You weren't happy, yet you were staying with me anyway."

Arizona exhaled tiredly, knowing that there was some truth in her ex-wife's words. "Callie..."

Callie shook her head. "All I want is for us to be happy, Arizona. Even if it's not with each other."

* * *

**Things you said while we were driving. (Set post-7x19)**

"Callie!" Arizona yelled. "Red light! Red light! Red light!"

"I see it!" Callie defended, putting her foot on the brake. She furrowed her eyebrows, taking in her fiance's stiff disposition and hand clutching the hold above the window. "Hey, it's okay," she soothed. "I'm watching the road. I promise you that we aren't going to crash."

Slowly, Arizona exhaled a nervous breath. "I'm good. Sorry."

Callie smiled lovingly at her. "Don't be." She moved her hand onto Arizona's thigh, rubbing it in attempt at comfort.

Arizona looked up towards the traffic light. "Green light! Go!"

Callie immediately accelerated, insisting, "You yelling obvious instructions is not going to keep us any safer, though. So stop," she chuckled slightly, looking at the agitated blonde as she continued driving.

Arizona affectionately met her eyes, and the rest of world seemed to disappear, in that moment.

Then, she tore her eyes away, seeing a family of five walking in the crosswalk directly in front of them.

"STOP SIGN!" she yelled.

Callie slammed on the brakes, mere feet from the startled family. She and Arizona flew forwards, then were jolted back by their tight seat belts.

Arizona glared at Callie, and the brunette offered a sheepish puppy dog face. "I'm sorry," she cringed. "Stop being cute, and I'll focus on the road."

Arizona crossed her arms. "I'll do my best."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	78. Chapter 78

**AU. Post S11. **

**Sorry for all the AUs lately, btw, and that they haven't been canon (did I spell that right?). I just really want our babies together! **

**Anyway, I really shouldn't even upload this. It's random, and I didn't even plan it; I just started writing random things. Whatever! Hope this provides someone with entertainment. I sure needed some on my flight today, hence this chapter.**

* * *

"I dreamt about you last night."

Callie looked up from her iPad into clear blue eyes, staring intensely at her. She knit her eyebrows together. "What?"

Arizona smiled enigmatically. "I had a dream about you," she repeated. "That's all."

Callie looked at her in confusion. "Okay...?"

Again, Arizona's facial expression was unreadable—as was her response. "I just thought you should know." She smiled, emanating actual, physical sunshine, then moved to walk away. "I'll see you in the meeting."

Callie's eyes followed her ex-wife as she walked away. What the hell had just happened?

* * *

"KAREV!" Callie called down the hall towards the Pediatrics fellow.

Alex looked up, already scowling at her. "Why are you always yelling at me?"

Callie quickly strode up to him. "What's going on with Arizona?"

Alex raised his eyebrows. "How the hell should I know? Ask her yourself."

Callie sighed. "She's being weird. Like, she's perky. And friendly. Towards me."

Alex waited.

"Do you know why?"

He made a face. "Maybe she wants to be your friend? I've gotta work," he insisted. "Talk to _her_ if you want to know."

Callie pouted. "_Fine_. It's just weird, that's all! Isn't it weird?"

Alex shrugged, walking the opposite direction. "It's not like she talks to me about you. Figure it out."

Callie huffed, unmoving. She knew that Arizona's behavior—though odd—shouldn't affect her so much, yet she was intrigued. Really, really intrigued. And she wanted to know what brought the blonde to make a point of seeking her out to freakin' say, "I dreamt about you." Who did that? Seriously? Especially to an ex.

Whatever. Really, it wasn't worth worrying about. Arizona was...in the past.

And Callie was...happy. She'd found a woman who made her happy. Part of her never expected to find someone, again, but well...she had.

She'd met a woman who was drama-free and didn't resent her for things outside of her control.

She was happy. And she wasn't going to let her ex-wife change that.

* * *

As Callie and Meredith arrived at the meeting where surgical attendings, fellows, and chiefs of departments were gathered, Callie noted Arizona herself, already sitting down at the crowded table and pointing at the one empty seat left there: one that was coincidentally right beside her.

Had Arizona saved her a seat?

That was weird. More than weird. After two and a half years of barely being cordial and only ever talking about Sofia and the weather, Arizona's sudden obvious interest in her was suspicious. What was it about that day that had Arizona making an effort to...what? Be her friend?

Carefully, Callie sat down beside the blonde.

"I saved you a seat," Arizona explained.

"Thanks."

Arizona dimpled. "How was your morning?"

Before Callie could answer, Dr. Webber bellowed, "Alright, listen up folks."

The room immediately quieted.

"As many of you know, the Board, the Harper Avery Foundation, and I are currently looking for a new Chief of Surgery. I would like to encourage any of you who may feel _prepared_ and interested to consider running for this position. Note that there will also be outside applicants, so it may be competitive. Make sure to plan your proposal with that in mind. Are there any questions?"

Bailey eagerly raised her hand.

"Dr. Bailey, go ahead."

Bailey smiled. "These 'outside applicants.' What might they have that we—the strapping, brilliant, eager, innovative doctors of Grey Sloan— don't?"

Everyone laughed.

Webber eyed the overconfident woman. "I can't tell you that yet, but if you're interested, you should get used to the idea that you are lacking in at least one area where they are not."

That immediately shut everyone up.

"Yes, sir. I will," Bailey nodded.

"Good," he quipped. "Any further questions?"

No one made a move to raise their hands.

"Then, you're all free to go," the patriarch of the hospital concluded.

And everyone was on their way. That is, everyone but Callie and Arizona.

Callie was determined to get to the bottom of Arizona's strange behavior before she left the conference room, and Arizona felt glued in place by Callie's suspicious stare.

"Well," Arizona chirped, ready to get out of there. "See you later?"

"Wait," Callie put up her hand, stopping Arizona without actually laying a hand on her.

Arizona gulped, sitting back down. "Yeah?"

"What is this?" Callie asked bravely. Did she really want to know?

"What?" Arizona asked innocently, but her eyes were shifty.

Callie crossed her arms. "You know what."

Arizona sighed. "I just...I heard you're dating someone, and—"

Callie groaned. The last time Arizona had found out about who she was seeing, it hadn't ended so well. "What, did you date this one, too?"

Arizona smiled patiently. "No, Calliope. I don't even know who she is."

"Why, then?" Callie asked impatiently.

Arizona exhaled a deep breath, trying to remain patient and keep herself from admitting anything she wasn't ready to. "I just...wanted to make sure you knew that I'm happy that you've found someone who makes you happy. Thrilled, really," she plastered a smile on her face that wasn't entirely convincing. "I'm just trying to be a good," she cleared her throat, hating the term, "ex-wife here."

Callie widened her eyes. This admission was unexpected, to say the least. She didn't think she and Arizona could ever be just friends, but here the blonde was, trying. "Thank you," Callie smiled genuinely. "For...being happy for me."

Arizona cocked her head. "Sure. And we should have dinner or something soon. With Sofia, of course," she quickly added. "To catch up."

Callie nodded slowly, weighing the request. Something still felt...weird. But she had missed Arizona. Really, really missed her, just as a person. Because, while she thought Arizona had been the love of her life, the blonde had also been her best friend for a long time. And not being able to be even friends anymore had been hard. So she was glad that they were finally in a place where they could be there for each other, with no hard feelings.

That was what Arizona was saying, right?

"Yeah. You should come to the house sometime. Sof would love it." _So would I_, she thought, but she silenced the notion, burying it deep inside herself.

Arizona grinned. "So would I."

* * *

A few days later, Callie was picking up the house when she got a call on her cell phone. She smiled, picking it up. "Hey, there."

"Hey, stranger."

Callie loved how easy everything was with this woman. Different from how it's been with Arizona—particularly during those last few years. "How's it going?"

"Good," the woman replied. "It would be better if you'd come have dinner with me tonight, though," she flirted.

Callie winced. "I wish I could, but I actually invited my ex over for dinner, tonight."

"Your ex?" the woman intoned.

"Yeah. Just to catch up and make Sofia happy, you know?" Callie explained.

"Sure," she quickly conceded. "We've been together for a few months, now. I trust that you like me."

"Good, because I do," Callie smiled.

"Good. So have fun tonight, and I'll see you this weekend hopefully?"

"_Yes_," Callie agreed immediately. "See you then. Bye."

When Callie hung up, she sighed. Had it really been a good idea to invite Arizona over for dinner? At _their_ old home? In retrospect, probably not, but there was nothing she could do about it then. She could only emotionally prepare herself for the potential onslaught of pain and awkwardness.

* * *

Callie had told Arizona to come by at seven, but of course, she got there ten minutes early. Her parents had taught her the importance of timeliness and manners and, well, they'd seemed to stick with her.

Gingerly, she rang the doorbell, trying to ignore the strange nervousness she felt in the pit of her stomach. Dinner had been her idea, after all, and if anything got awkward, Sofia would be there as a safe buffer.

And, she had to admit, she was thankful that Callie even agreed to see her socially. So much had happened, but Arizona had finally gotten the space to heal and discover what she wanted during the last two and a half years.

She was healed. She had accepted her disability, and she had forgiven Callie.

She had forgiven the woman who—as it turned out—had loved her more than she ever could have imagined, and, well, Arizona wanted her back.

She wanted Callie to forgive her, too.

She knew the odds weren't in her favor, though, so she was settling for...a sort of friendship. That was better than nothing, right?

If Callie was happy with the new woman she was dating, then she deserved to be happy.

Arizona had made her unhappy for long enough.

Finally, the door swung open, but instead of an excited Sofia welcoming her, there was only Callie.

"Hi," Callie smiled sheepishly.

"Hi," Arizona replied, eyeing her ex-wife. "Sofia?"

Callie rolled her eyes slightly, opening the door wider. "Come in."

Carefully, Arizona strode in, immediately taking in the entry-room and living room, looking for any changes.

It looked almost the same as it had when she'd lived there, and she found that to be a relief.

"So, bad news," Callie explained.

Arizona raised her eyebrows.

Callie winced. "I may have forgotten that I agreed to let Sof sleepover at Aleka's tonight. And I tried to cancel, but..."

"Puppy dog eyes," Arizona finished, understanding.

"Yeah!" Callie laughed. "She got that from you, you know. And I have no problem being bad cop when I have to be, but..." she shrugged helplessly, and Arizona smiled.

"It's okay. I get her this weekend, anyway."

"Right," Callie smiled back. God, she was nervous. She knew she shouldn't be. After all, they were over. So over. But, still, having Arizona so close was...dizzying.

Which was stupid, she knew, but she couldn't help but feel a little...dizzy in her presence. There was no other way to describe it.

"So, dinner? With just the two of us?" Arizona asked.

"Yes!" Callie exclaimed, as if suddenly remembering. "But, honestly, I don't really feel like cooking."

Arizona waved her off. "Callie, you don't have to cook for me. I practically invited myself, as is. We could just order in some Chinese? My treat?"

Callie grinned. "Now, _that_ sounds good."

Arizona chuckled. "You still like Kirin?"

"You know me well." Callie cringed at her response as soon as she'd said it, remembering how she'd used to use that same expression when they'd been together. But it was true. As much as she and Arizona tried to forget it, they did, in fact, know each other well.

Better than anyone else, maybe.

Better than anyone else ever could, maybe.

* * *

After Arizona made a call to the restaurant to get food delivered, she and Callie made their way over to the couch, each trying to bury memories of everything they'd done on it, once upon a time.

"So..." Arizona prompted, mentally slapping herself. Why was she being so awkward?

"So...?" Callie repeated, hating how awkward they suddenly were with one another.

Arizona cleared her throat. "So, um, how did you meet your," she paused, "girlfriend?"

Before she had even finished, Callie was shaking her head. "I'm not talking to you about that," she chuckled.

"Oh. Okay," Arizona breathed, her voice betraying her unease.

Callie sighed, hating the thought that she'd hurt the blonde. God, she hated that thought. "No," she reached out and put a soothing hand on Arizona's arm. They both looked down at where Callie was now touching her, feeling a sudden jolt flow through them, from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes.

"Not because...I don't know. I just think it's weird. For us to talk about that, you know?" Carefully, she took in Arizona's vulnerable expression. "I don't want to hurt you."

Arizona shook her head rapidly, as if erasing the mere thought from her memory. "You won't. I mean, I'm the one who wanted to be...friendly...right? You don't have to worry about me."

Suddenly noticing her hand still over Arizona's shoulder, Callie lifted it, immediately missing the warmth, and awkwardly set it down on her own thigh. It felt like a cheap substitute.

"I know that I don't have to," Callie clarified. "But...I do." She guiltily met Arizona's intense eyes, shrugging, "I can't help it."

Arizona smiled in spite of herself. "I worry, too," she explained. "Which is why I was asking about her." She smiled jokingly. "I have to make sure she's good enough for you."

Callie looked at Arizona, promising, "Trust me, she is."

At this, it seemed that Arizona didn't even attempt to filter her words, arguing, "I doubt it."

Callie met her eyes in shock, immediately getting lost in cool blue pools. What the hell was she doing? Quickly, she changed the subject. "What about you? Have you dated anyone?"

Arizona shook her head. "Nope."

Callie cocked an eyebrow. It had been two and a half years. Was she really expected to believe that her ex-wife—her hot, smart ex-wife—hadn't been with anyone? "Really? No one?" she questioned, clearly dumbfounded.

"No one," Arizona swore. Then, self-conscious, she explained, "I've been really busy, you know, with two specialties. And..."

"And...?" Callie prompted, when Arizona didn't make a move to continue her thought.

Arizona bit her lip anxiously, meeting warm brown eyes. "And I guess no one else has caught my eye."

"I guess not," Callie replied, still shocked. But, she didn't ignore the obvious implication Arizona had made by saying "no one else." It was directed her way, that she was certain of.

It was then that the Chinese food was delivered, and Arizona quickly hopped up from the couch with an "I've got it!" She was eager for both food and a change of subject.

Callie got up, too, getting two plates and a number of forks from the kitchen and setting everything down on the coffee table.

When Arizona got back, she eyed the setup. "You wanted to eat in here?"

Callie shrugged. "Why not?"

Arizona smiled at her. "It's just like old times. Remember when you were doing your cartilage research? We must've eaten Chinese food every night."

Callie laughed, allowing herself to feel the warm memory. "You brought me takeout from here every time. Made it ten times better."

Arizona dimpled, just allowing herself to take in Callie's immense beauty for a moment. When the Latina was happy, she _glowed_. There was no other way to describe it. Arizona had missed being around that glow, and she most definitely had missed causing it.

"So, couch it is." She sat down, opening the containers of vegetable chow mein, steamed rice, spicy garlic green beans, sweet and sour chicken, and crispy potstickers.

Callie eyed Arizona. "Overboard, much?"

The blonde shrugged, unfazed. "I was hungry."

As they ate, Callie asked curiously, "Where are you living now that Meredith bought the house back?"

Arizona swallowed before answering. "A hotel, for now. I'm only ever there on my nights with Sof. On your nights, I just sleep on the couch in my office. Get more work done."

Callie nodded. It sounded so...lonely to her. Once again, she wished Arizona would have taken the house after their divorce. She was the one who had fallen in love with it, anyway.

"I'm looking into renting a house, though," Arizona continued. "There's a nice one two blocks from Mer's. Really nice neighborhood, and it's only one floor, which is good for me."

"You're not looking into buying anything?"

Arizona shook her head, a wistful smile pulling at her lips. "I haven't really found anywhere else that feels like home."

Again, with the word "else." This time, Callie couldn't help but feel sympathy for her ex. "You know," she cleared her throat. _Callie, what the hell are you doing? _"You could always stay here until you figure out your next step. The house _is_ half yours. And there's a guest room. We'd barely even see each other!" She smiled, but she wasn't sure if it was optimistic or abysmal.

In truth, she _liked_ spending time with Arizona. She always had.

Arizona shook her head. That had been the last response she'd expected to hear from Callie. "Callie, I couldn't. Thank you for the offer, but I wouldn't want to intrude in your space."

"You wouldn't," Callie soothed. "You know Sofia would love it, and really, it'd make me feel less guilty about taking this place from you."

"You didn't take it," Arizona argued gently. "I gave it to you."

"And now I'm giving it back," Callie explained. She paused, thinking. "Half back, anyway."

Arizona sighed.

"Just think about it." _Callie, what the hell are you doing?! _There was the voice again, and honestly, she didn't know _what_ she was doing. She had no idea how to respond to the part of her that was actually thinking critically. Because all she could think about was...

Well, there it was.

She'd been waiting for that smile. That real, genuine, _amazed_ smile, directed right at her.

"Okay," Arizona swore. "I'll think about it."

* * *

And Arizona had stayed true to her word. Three days later, she laid in her bed, still considering Callie's words.

It wasn't that the prospect of going home didn't completely thrill her, in this strange, calming sense. Because it did.

It was that "home" wasn't how she had left it. She wouldn't be going home to Callie and Sofia, as she had when she'd lived there in the past. She'd be going home to Sofia. Callie would just happen to be there.

Which was different. And, if she let herself admit it, it was painful to even imagine.

Because Callie would be there, but Callie wouldn't be _hers_. She was someone else's, instead.

Which was crazy. But it was also the reality.

She decided to track Callie down at work.

"Hey!" Arizona rushed towards the brunette, who was standing in front of the OR board.

Callie turned, smiling at her. Since that dinner, it almost felt as if they'd gotten a new start. A better start—at least compared to the awful start of not being together that followed the last couple's therapy appointment. "Hey."

"Did you mean what you said? About the house?"

Callie turned to her, offering her undivided attention. "I meant it, Arizona. Did you think about it?"

Arizona nodded. "I think," she paused. "I think you should ask the woman you're seeing if it's okay, before I say anything. I wouldn't want to overstep or come between you two."

Callie nodded back, touched by her ex-wife's thoughtfulness. "Sure," she smiled. "I'll talk to her."

And so she did.

"I just..." Callie began. "I feel like I have to help her. We bought the house together, and she's kind of homeless right now."

"Homeless?" the woman questioned.

"Not _homeless_ homeless!" Callie quickly clarified. "She's a doctor for crying out loud. But _between houses_. That's a better term for it. I just want her to have somewhere to stay until she starts renting her own place."

The woman on the other end of the line sighed. "I'm just worried that she's taking advantage of you."

"She's not." The woman clearly didn't know Arizona.

"And I know that you don't love her like that anymore, but are you sure she isn't still in love with you?"

"We're friends." It was a weak explanation, but it was all she knew to be true. "And she's Sofia's mom."

"I know," the woman exhaled deeply. "I'm not going to forbid you from it or anything like that, but just think before you do anything, okay? You can say I wouldn't let you, if that makes it easier. I just want you to be sure before you invite her into your home."

"Okay," Callie sighed. "I will." She didn't want to think, though. She didn't want to think about potential consequences or issues or whatever. She wanted to give this a shot. Even if she wasn't sure exactly why it was so important to her. She just knew that it was.

* * *

This time, it was Callie who sought out Arizona, a few days later. She walked towards her office in the Pediatrics ward, knocking gently before opening it at a friendly, "Come in!"

Arizona was sitting on her couch, overdressing a salad and taking a break from standing. Callie noticed that her prosthesis was laying on the floor and her hair was disheveled.

"Is everything okay?" Callie asked.

"Yeah," Arizona sighed. "Long day. My leg's not happy with me."

Callie frowned sympathetically. "Maybe seeing Sof tonight would help?"

Arizona knit her eyebrows together. "It's your night with her." Then, she took in Callie's knowing smile. "_OOOH_."

Callie grinned. "You're good to move your stuff in." But, quickly, her eyes widened, as she realized she had been presumptuous. "That is, if you even want to."

Arizona grinned back, her face suddenly only expressing complete and utter joy. "Are you sure?"

If Callie could have smiled any wider, she would have. Just seeing how happy Arizona was made her heart soar. "Positive. Please say yes."

"_Yes_!" Arizona exclaimed. "Oh, thank you, Callie," she thanked gratefully.

"Don't mention it. Do you need help getting your stuff?"

Arizona shook her head. "I don't want to hassle you. I don't have much. All the furniture and art and stuff is still with you."

"You can have it back," Callie offered, chuckling. "When you get your own house and actually have a place to decorate."

"Right," Arizona smiled, then quickly sobered up, her smile fading as she remembered that, really, she wasn't going home.

She was just visiting.

* * *

**Okay, so I saw a post on Tumblr called "100 ways to say I love you," one of which was "I dreamt about you." Another of which was "I saved you a seat," so I went with 'em.**

**Sorry if this makes no sense; I'm sleepy and really just wanted something to do on the plane ride home (five hours of boredom)! **

**I will continue to make this a two or three shot based on whether or not people like it, but here's a start. I'll just delete it if no one's into it, hehe.**

**Also, of course I had to have Arizona say something random and have Callie respond with, "What?" **

**Too funny. I'll never get over that part of their dynamic. **

**Hope everyone's doing well. Sorry for the long note!**


	79. Chapter 79

Hey all,

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to continue my most recent Missing Moment in an entirely different AU fic.

It's entitled "Good Dreams." Check it out if you're interested!


	80. Chapter 80

**Hi! Here are a few more minifics. **

**Let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Prompt: "Teach me to fight." (Set post-S11)**

"Arizona," Callie shook her head. "We can't do this. As much as we want to, we're just two people who can't be together. We need to accept that."

"Why?" Arizona asked in defiance. "Why do we need to accept that?"

"We don't communicate! We hurt each other, and then one of us walks away instead of solving the problem. And I can't be with someone who I'm scared will walk away if I do something wrong."

Arizona exhaled heavily. Then, she decided, "Teach me to fight, then."

"What?"

"Teach me to fight with you. For you. I don't want to walk away, and I definitely don't want you to walk away. I want to be with you. Forever, Calliope. So teach me. Teach me to accept anger and yelling without getting scared away."

"It's not that simple."

"It _is _that simple! We love each other, and we're determined to stay together. I'm not going to walk away when things get hard. Are you?"

"I won't," Callie promised. "Now I know that being with you is worth it. As long as we're honest with each other."

"We will be," Arizona vowed. "And I'm being honest now when I say that I'll be by your side for the rest of our lives."

Callie released an uneven breath, finally believing Arizona's words. "And I'm being honest when I say I love you more than anything else in this world."

A breathtaking smile overtook Arizona's face. "You do?"

Callie nodded. "I do."

* * *

**Prompt: "I will never apologize for saving your life, even if it costs me my own." (Set early S9)**

"Arizona, I can't take this," Callie said to the near corpse of the woman her wife used to be. "I can't take this."

Arizona refused to look at her.

"You can't spend the rest of your life in this bed."

"Wanna bet?" Arizona sneered, finally turning to face her wife with eyes of poison.

"_No_," Callie shook her head defiantly. "You do not get to destroy yourself after you lived. You don't get to waste away. Get up. Get the hell out of that bed."

"'Get up,' Callie? Really? And how do you expect me to do that, when you cut off my leg?"

Callie felt her blood run cold at her wife's words. Then boil. "I SAVED YOUR LIFE!"

"**YOU INCAPACITATED ME**!"

Callie exhaled loudly, attempting to remain patient and strong. "Arizona," she began evenly. "I will never apologize for saving your life, even if it costs me my own. Even if it costs us our marriage. Even if it means you stop loving me."

Icy blue eyes snapped up to meet warm hot chocolate, and for a second, Callie swore that she almost could see the ice melting. Just for a second.

"But Sofia needs you alive. Especially now. And, Arizona, I really,_really _need you alive," she pleaded. "The world does. So you need to get out of this bed soon, and you need to remember how to live."

Arizona looked away, shaking her head, but Callie pushed forward, "Because trying to push me away, trying to make me hate you isn't going to work. I love you, so I am _not _going to let you destroy yourself. Not after all this. You need to get up and live."

* * *

**Prompt: "I love you. I'm completely and utterly in love with you. Please don't get married." (Set in the future)**

Callie was doing the finishing touches to her makeup when she heard a voice behind her say, "I love you. I'm completely and utterly in love with you. Please don't get married."

Immediately, her eyes bulged. She knew that voice. She loved that voice.

She turned around in her chair, and there was Arizona.

Arizona. With her hair in soft curls around her face and wearing a long pastel blue dress.

"Arizona…" Callie breathed. Was this really happening?

"I mean it. Callie, I love you more than…anything. I'm in love with you. And," her cerulean began to water, "I know she makes you happy, and I love that. But, please, before you get married, give _me_ another chance to make you happy."

Callie stood up. "No. You don't…get to just show up here, on the day of my wedding. You don't get to do this after five years."

"Callie…"

"NO! I loved you, I love you, I will love you forever. Of course I will. But I need to give myself a chance to move on."

"You have," Arizona responded. "You've given yourself five years. You've given _us _five years." She licked her lips nervously. "But I don't want to move on."

Callie shook her head. "You can't just…"

"What, Callie? Be honest? If you want to marry this woman, then do it. But I'm telling you that I still love you. I still want to be with you. More than anything else. So if you have any doubts whatsoever…"

Callie's head snapped up in expectancy.

"Then don't go through with it. Leave with me and Sofia. Let me show you how much I still love you."

Callie's heart took off in her chest as she weighed Arizona's complete sincerity. Callie had tried, in vain, to move on from Arizona, and she had finally found someone who she could genuinely see herself sharing a life with.

Someone smart. Someone kind. Someone beautiful.

But someone who, to her, couldn't even begin to compare to Arizona, if she let herself be honest.

"Why now?" Callie whispered.

Arizona shrugged helplessly. "I woke up this morning and realized that I needed to fight for you. I couldn't just let you go, because _I love you_."

Callie shook her head. "I can't just…ruin _this _and blindly hope that you and I will figure our stuff out and will be able to be together."

"Don't blindly hope, then. Trust me."

Callie didn't look convinced.

"Callie, there's no way I'm letting you go again. Not ever."

With Callie's eyes brimming with tears, she looked at the blonde. She looked at the woman she'd always sworn to be her soulmate–the love of her life. The one person she could never quite get over.

And she made a decision. An abrupt, impulsive one, but she listened to her heart.

She decided to trust Arizona.

* * *

"**I don't hate you. I could never hate you. That's the problem." (Set post-S11)**

"That's an excellent idea to research, Dr. Robbins," Webber complimented. "You might want to enlist Dr. Torres' help, since she specializes in bones. She'd make a good asset."

Arizona nodded solemnly. "That's a good idea, sir. I'll ask."

And so she did.

"I...don't know if that's a good idea," Callie replied hesitantly after listening to her ex-wife's proposal. "It sounds like we'd work pretty closely alongside each other." Which wouldn't be good. The only reason she had been able to fight her feelings for Arizona for so long had been because she'd maintained her distance. If they were to collaborate on a project, however, she wasn't sure if she would be able to continue her self-control.

Arizona's face fell. "Am I really...so bad? Do you really hate me that much?" she asked vulnerably.

"No," Callie breathed, her voice drowning in compassion. "I don't hate you. I could never hate you. That's the problem."

* * *

**Thanks for reading :)**


	81. Chapter 81

**AU set S12. Inspired by jcapluver on Tumblr!**

* * *

Arizona was supposed to be having a good day. She was supposed to be having an _awesome_ day.

She was supposed to be feeling proud. And accomplished. And _joyful_.

But she wasn't.

That day, after weeks of planning, she had succeeded at an unprecedented, unimaginable surgery — completely absolving a fetus of what was believed to be an untreatable abnormality, and not killing the mother in the process.

It was amazing. It really was. So much so that Bailey had popped open bottles of sparkling apple cider in her honor several minutes before.

"Congratulations!" a resident commended her as he passed by, carrying a paper plate of small cookies and brownie bites.

Arizona plastered on a smile. "Thank you!"

"Dr. Robbins!"

Arizona, already exhausted from all the socializing, turned towards the person who had called out to her from several feet away.

An intern smiled nervously, standing in front of the Head of Pediatrics with her nervous hands fiddling at her sides. "I, um," she began anxiously. "I saw the entire thing from the gallery, and you're _amazing_," she gushed.

Arizona blushed. "I had a great team," she replied modestly.

The intern shook her head. "It was you. You had so much control and didn't freak out at anything unexpected." She looked down shyly, then met Arizona's clear blue eyes. "I hope that I can be a surgeon like you one day."

Arizona smiled kindly. "You will be. Thank you."

The young woman nodded, then quickly excused herself to go be with her friends.

Arizona sighed, searching the room for a familiar face — not just any familiar face — but one in particular. To her dismay, however, the one person she actually wanted to congratulate her, the one person she actually wanted to _talk to_, was nowhere in sight.

"Arizona!" April rushed towards her, and when she was greeted with a smile, she immediately wrapped her arms around one of her closest friends. As they pulled away, April kept her hand on Arizona's shoulder. "I heard that the surgery was incredible. That _you_ were incredible."

Arizona smiled genuinely. "It was good. Hopefully things stay good."

"They will!" April insisted, her voice chipper.

Arizona attempted to keep her expression positive. "I'm gonna go talk to Alex," she explained, quickly walking towards her former student, who was standing judgmentally in a corner of the room.

"Hey," she greeted as she came to stand beside him. "Good job today. We made a pretty awesome team, huh?"

Alex grinned at her. "Dude. The awesomest." He paused, then added, "We kicked ass today. He tossed back his glass of effervescent apple juice.

When he turned back towards his mentor, he noticed her sorrowful expression and searching eyes. "What's up with you?" he asked.

"Nothing," Arizona deflected immediately. Alex raised his eyebrows, and she sighed in surrender. "Have you seen Callie?"

"Why would I know where your ex-wife is?" he sneered.

"No reason," Arizona quickly excused.

Alex's eyes softened as he took in the blonde's pained demeanor.

"I just thought she might be here," she breathed.

Alex sighed, lightly brushing his hand across the small of her back in an attempt at comfort. "She's probably just in surgery."

"Right," Arizona accepted, her tone still despondent. She set her unfinished class of cider on the table beside them and decided, "I'm gonna go. I...don't need to be here."

Alex nodded slowly. He knew Arizona well, and he knew that — though bubbly on the surface — she didn't necessarily enjoy being in large groups of people, especially when she didn't care about most of them. And especially when she was aching for someone in particular — someone who, at the moment, was proving to be entirely absent. "Okay. I'll tell anyone who asks that you went to go check on the patient," he added kindly.

Arizona looked up and into her fellow's uncharacteristically sincere eyes. "_Thank you_," she mouthed gratefully.

Blushing, he waved her off. "It's no big deal."

* * *

But Arizona didn't go check on her patient. She didn't go check on any of her patients.

She didn't want to see anyone else. She didn't want to talk to anyone else. She didn't want to be congratulated by anyone else.

Well, by anyone else but Callie, anyway.

Arizona knew that she should feel happy, but she wasn't. Because she hadn't wanted to recount every juicy detail of the surgery to Bailey as soon as she had finished, or to Edwards, or to Wilson, or to anyone else who had asked.

She had only wanted to tell Callie.

Callie.

The woman who Arizona used to share the burden of pain with, as well as the blessings of joy. The woman who used to love hearing about her successes. The woman who used to be her biggest supporter.

Even years after their divorce, Arizona only wanted to share her joy with Callie.

But she couldn't, because Callie wasn't there and because she was seeing someone else.

Instead, Arizona hid away in one of the Peds Ward's on-call rooms, giving herself a few minutes to pull herself together. And, before that, giving herself a few minutes to fall apart.

* * *

"Karev!" Callie called out amid the busy lounge where Arizona's congratulatory party was taking place. "Where's Arizona?"

Alex shrugged, shying away from the question. "I don't know."

Callie knit her eyebrows together. "She was here, right? I mean, it's her party!" She continued searching the room for familiar blonde hair.

"She left," Alex explained, biting into a store-bought cookie.

"Why? Where'd she go?" Callie asked worriedly. Why would Arizona have left?

Alex paused momentarily, weighing his options. Then, he settled for the truth. Callie was his friend, too, after all. "I don't know. She just wasn't in the mood, so I told everyone I'd say that she went to check on the patient." He hadn't told Callie everything, but apparently, it was enough. Because, before he had even finished his explanation, she was turning away and heading towards the door.

Callie headed towards the ICU, where she knew Arizona's patient would be. Unfortunately, she had been in her own surgery and had been unable to watch her ex-wife's, but she knew that it had been big. And, if the buzz at the party was any indication, she knew that Arizona must have done incredible work. _Though_, Callie thought, smiling, _she always does_.

She walked through the halls of the ICU, searching every room for Arizona, but the blonde was nowhere in sight. Looking at her watch, she bounded up the stairs — going up two at a time — towards the Peds Ward.

She strode up to the nurse's station, out of breath, asking, "Have any of you seen Dr. Robbins?"

The three women sitting at the desk shook their heads "no." But, luckily, the woman standing behind them, who Callie recognized to be Nurse Rebecca, nodded towards the hallway. Immediately, Callie understood and walked towards the on-call room where she and Arizona had spent ample time napping, eating lunch, and making out in their few years of marriage.

As she reached the door, she hesitantly brought her hand up to knock.

"I'm sleeping!" Arizona called out from inside.

Endeared, Callie ignored her and quickly opened and closed the door, slipping inside.

Arizona looked up in alarm, first at the intruder and then at the fact that it was Callie.

Callie immediately took in her ex-wife: sitting on the bed, elbows resting on her knees and tears falling from her eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked perceptively, moving to sit beside the blonde before she could even stop herself.

She _did_ make sure to sit a foot or so away, though. That was something she knew that she had to do. Any closer and she would have felt Arizona's warmth against her. And that just might have killed her. Even then.

Arizona swallowed hard, wiping at her damp cheeks with her hands. "Nothing. Just...long day."

Callie's eyebrows furrowed in worry and surprise. "I heard the surgery went great," she began.

Arizona turned and smiled at her, even through her tears. "It did," she admitted contently.

"So what's wrong?" Callie asked again. "Everyone's been raving about what you did. You should be flying high right now!"

Arizona exhaled a shuddering sigh. "I know. And I am. Everything went great. Everything _is_ great; it's awesome! It's just..." she shook her head. "It's just that the first person I wanted to tell afterwards was you."

Callie sucked in a breath. This had not been the answer she had been expecting. Not at all.

"And I couldn't," Arizona continued. "I'll never be able to. Because you're with her." She took another breath, desperate to slow her overworking heart and quell the overwhelming sadness that threatened to drown her. "So...I just...I just need a minute."

Callie kept her eyes on Arizona and finally nodded slowly. "Okay."

* * *

**Reviews are always appreciated!**


	82. Chapter 82

**Written after 12x02. Set moderately far in the future.**

* * *

"Dude," Alex began, nodding towards his mentor. "What are you doing tonight?"

Arizona eyed him questioningly. "Sofia's sleeping over at a friend's. I was kind of planning on getting Chinese and watching American Bake Off." She offered a silly smile. "Wanna come?"

Alex smirked. "No. I'm going to Joe's."

"You need a drinking buddy?" Arizona teased.

"No!" he defended, but his jaw set in a way that let Arizona know that he'd had a long day. "Whatever." He began walking away, but Arizona stopped him.

"I'll meet you there?" she offered gently. If she were being perfectly honest, she could use a few drinks herself. And, anyway, drinking with a friend was less pathetic than going home and drinking alone, right?

It wasn't that she hadn't met other women. She had, actually. She'd met a lot. She'd gone out with a few, even. But, as Deluca had pointed out a few days before, she had always found a reason not to bring them home.

Usually, it was just too easy.

The women didn't keep her on her toes the way that Callie always had. Because Arizona _knew_ that they wanted her to take them home.

It wasn't that she was about the chase. I mean, she was practically a middle-aged woman. But that didn't mean that she still didn't search for the feelings Callie used to give her.

She wasn't willing to settle. She was only interested in someone who could make her heart take off in her chest with a smile alone. Or someone who could light her skin on fire with just a passing touch. Or someone who had the ability to change her dreams entirely.

She wasn't willing to settle for someone who wasn't even a fraction as magnificent as Callie.

Which, at that point, meant being alone. Because there weren't many women out there who could compare.

Not that she could tell Callie that. Not anymore. Because she'd tried, and…

It hadn't gone great.

A few months before, Arizona had done what, at the time, she'd thought had been best: she'd been the consummate Supportive Ex-Wife. She'd encouraged Callie to talk to her about her dating life — primarily, only because she'd been desperate to know about _Callie_ — and she'd encouraged the brunette to give her girlfriend another chance.

And, unfortunately, Callie had listened to her. Because of Arizona's stupid, stupid decision and misplaced repression and projection, Callie was still dating her stupid, stupid girlfriend.

Which was stupid. So, so stupid. It was the _last_ thing Arizona wanted, and yet, that's what had happened.

And Callie had continued to tell her about her _great_ relationship because, well, Arizona had asked.

That is, until the week before. When, finally, she hadn't been able to keep up the façade any longer.

And, for lack of a better expression, everything had gone to shit.

* * *

**One week prior...**

"Hey, can I ask your advice on something?" Callie asked shyly.

"Yeah," Arizona replied, attempting to hold a smile.

Callie sighed heavily. "It's, um. You and I had good sex, right?"

Arizona raised her eyebrows, because _W H A T_?

Callie chuckled at her expression. "I mean..." she paused. "We did, right?"

Arizona gulped because, god, she did not want to think about that. Her senses hummed at the very thought. "Yes, Calliope," she smiled after a moment. "Definitely."

Callie sighed in relief. "That's what I thought. Yeah."

Arizona's eyes widened. "_Why_?"

Callie shrugged, blushing slightly. "I just..." she sighed. "With her...the conversation is great, I can _feel_ our chemistry, but the sex is just..."

"Disappointing?" Arizona finished hopefully.

Callie eyed her. "No. Not that," she quickly offended. "Just...not so...passionate...?" she ended unsurely.

Arizona felt her lips turn up, and she quickly mentally chastised herself, attempting to lose the smile. "Oh."

Callie shrugged again, attempting to seem unconcerned. "But, it'll be fine, right? We just...need to practice more." She smiled at the thought.

And, then, Arizona had wanted to puke. "Callie?" she squinted slightly, deciding between being honest and silent.

"Yeah?" Callie asked receptively.

Arizona sighed. "I want to be friends, I do, but it's kind of hard when you ask me about..._this_ kind of thing," she finished weakly.

"Oh," Callie nodded after a moment, understanding. "I didn't mean t—"

"It's fine," Arizona interrupted.

"I just—I trust you. I care about your opinion," Callie attempted to smile. "And it just feels great, knowing that you're happy for me. That you're happy that I've found someone who makes me happy and that there are no lasting hard feelings."

"Right," Arizona swallowed back her pain.

Callie eyed her curiously, only then noticing her ex-wife's internal struggle. "Right...?" she asked. "You can talk to me, too, you know," she expressed kindly. And, as she learned soon thereafter, ignorantly.

Arizona looked down, murmuring, "Not about this."

Callie's eyebrows furrowed. "What?" she asked. What was Arizona talking about? The blonde could tell her about anything.

Arizona hesitantly met her eyes. "I just...I don't know if we can be friends." She moved to walk away, but Callie grabbed her arm without thinking.

As soon as Arizona turned around, shocked, Callie quickly dropped her hand. "Please talk to me."

Arizona shook her head. It was a bad idea. She _knew_ it was a bad idea.

Callie just looked at her, expectant.

"I can't just be your friend, Callie," Arizona finally admitted. "I can't...listen to you talking about sex with another woman when I still want to be with you."

Callie's eyes widened. "Wh—?"

"I can't!" Arizona pushed on. "It's too hard! I—I can't. Because I still love you, and you're moving on."

Callie was speechless. Positively. Speechless. _What_? What the hell?

"And I know that I should have said it sooner. I know I should have fought harder. _I should have_. Because now it's too late. But, at the very least, I cannot hear about this. So, please, talk to Meredith, or Alex, or Maggie, or anyone else. Because I want to be there for you, but I just can't. Not about this."

Callie felt as if the air had been sucked out of her. She was speechless and wanting to scream and feeling hollowed out and finally complete all at once.

"I love you, Calliope," Arizona repeated, as if Callie hadn't heard her the first time. "I love you, and I know we're...divorced," the term came out straggled. In part, she still couldn't quite believe it, because being divorced was just _so wrong_. Callie was the love of her life, and she hoped that she was still the love of Callie's. "But I love you," she continued. "I still love you. I really, really, really love you. And _I need to know_ if you—if any part of you—loves me, too?" She just needed Callie to tell her, once and for all, that she no longer loved her. That was all Arizona needed to force herself move on entirely.

But Callie didn't say that she still loved Arizona. She didn't say that she no longer loved Arizona. She didn't say anything. She couldn't.

So they just stood at a stand-still, neither able to move. Or speak. Or breathe.

Arizona only let out the breath she had been holding when her pager went off, alerting her to an incoming emergency in need of her expertise. She looked down and then back into Callie's eyes, pleading with her.

But, still, Callie didn't say anything, and so Arizona was forced to go: her question still unanswered.

* * *

**Present...**

Aaaand, that had been their last interaction. Since then, Arizona had been avoiding Callie like the plague. Because, really, she knew the answer. I mean, she didn't, not really, but was it really possible that Callie loved her, too? Now? Still? After everything?

It wasn't. It couldn't be. It was too much to hope for.

So she was going to drink to forget.

* * *

"Hey!" a sweet voice picked up as soon as Callie answered her phone.

"Hey," Callie smiled weakly. She knew that she was being a bad girlfriend. She knew that it wasn't fair for her to ignore the woman she was seeing just because Arizona had ambushed her the week before.

She knew that. And, yet, there she was, only picking up the phone after ignoring two other calls she'd received earlier that day.

"Are you busy tonight?" the woman asked. "I was thinking that, maybe, we could go to that bar you always talk about. What was it called? Emerald City?"

"Yeah," Callie nodded. "Joe's."

"Right!" the woman replied excitedly. "Are you free?"

Callie sighed. "I...actually have a lot to do, tonight."

She heard the woman frown on the other side of the line. "Callie..." she paused. "Are we okay? I mean, I know you're a doctor. I know you're crazy busy. But I haven't really heard from you all week and now you're busy. Do you want to end things?"

Callie raised her eyebrows. "What? No!" she exclaimed before she could think.

"Honestly," the woman pestered. "If you have something going on...if you don't want to keep going..."

Callie silently brought her hand up to her face, rubbing her eyes. God. She didn't know what the right thing to do was. She didn't want to make anyone else unhappy, but well, she had to put her own happiness first.

"You can tell me," the woman added sincerely. "Whatever you say is okay. I just need to know where you want us to stand."

And so, after a moment, Callie told her exactly that.

* * *

"Dude," Alex commented gruffly. "That's your third glass of red wine tonight. How can you stand so much of that stuff?"

Arizona could only muster up a small smirk and shrug.

Alex sighed. So, his drinking company that night wasn't too "fun." It wasn't like he was, either. So Arizona was the perfect sad, wallowy drinking buddy. They made an interesting pair.

The door's entrance bell rung, and Alex looked up. "Oh, hey," he observed. "Callie's here." He opened his mouth to call her over, but Arizona quickly – and a little drunkenly – shoved her hand over it.

"Don't!" she exclaimed. She looked up, catching her ex-wife sitting down at an empty booth. Looking really, really pretty. "She's probably meeting her girlfriend here."

And that thought only served to make her sad again. Sniffling, she swallowed hard and excused herself with a weak, "I have to go to the bathroom." She needed somewhere to hide. She just couldn't watch Callie being so happy with someone else.

Callie looked up at the bartender standing in front of her, preparing to drown her worries in a pint of Chardonnay, when she suddenly caught sight of a blonde weaving her way towards the bathroom. It looked like the blonde hair that she used to brush, and braid, and wake up to, with it adorning the pillow beside her.

Licking her lips, she grabbed her purse, standing up with an "Excuse me," and hurriedly following in the blonde's path. It had to be Arizona, right?

Or maybe she was crazy. I mean, what would the odds be of seeing Arizona there? That night, of all nights?

The odds had to be slim to none.

Callie gently pushed open the bathroom door.

And there she was.

Arizona, herself, standing at the sink. Wiping her eyes. Still not noticing Callie.

Callie shut the door behind her, and Arizona looked up in alarm.

"Hey," Callie said softly.

"Hey," Arizona replied meekly, looking at her in the mirror but still refusing to turn around.

Callie knit her eyebrows together. "Are you okay?"

Arizona turned to face her, considering her options. She could say, _Yeah, no, I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm super_. in that high-pitched tone that tended to fool people, but this was _Callie_. And Arizona hiding her feelings was what caused them to get so far apart in the first place. So, instead, she said, "No. I mean, not really. I saw you come in waiting for _her_ and..." she shook her head. "You two together..." she paused, closing her eyes helplessly. "I'm not okay."

Callie nodded slowly, feasting on Arizona's beautiful, beautiful face with wide brown eyes. "For the sake of being honest, I think I should tell you that we're not together."

Arizona's eyes widened, and her head snapped up. "What?"

Callie's eyes continued boring into Arizona's, unblinking. "She and I are not together anymore."

Arizona felt her heart taking off in her chest. Which was crazy. She knew it was crazy. Because Callie no longer being with her girlfriend didn't have to mean anything.

But it might. Right?

"You said you loved me," Callie said. It sounded like a statement, but there was a definite question lurking behind.

"I did," Arizona confirmed. "_I do_," she added.

Callie inhaled a slow breath, feeling the oxygen flow through her muscles and give her strength. "You said you needed to _know_ if I love you."

Arizona gulped. She had said that. Now, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer. She did, but...she wouldn't make it if Callie's answer was "no."

"Right?" Callie asked.

Slowly, Arizona nodded. "Right," she breathed.

And, with that, Callie stepped closer, her lips turning up into a wry smile as she did so.

Arizona stood still, unmoving – unable to move – by the sink, watching as Callie edged closer to her. She felt every hair on her head and body stand on end. Her stomach dropped down to the floor. She was tingling. Tingling in anticipation.

Of what? She didn't know. But of something.

Callie stepped closer, so close that Arizona could feel her body heat radiating off her ex-wife – even with her leather jacket on.

She felt a chill run through her. So badly, she wanted to say something, to ask something, to _do_ something, but she couldn't. All she could do was watch Callie and keep her shaking hands on her thighs, fighting the urge to reach up and touch the brunette.

Finally, Callie reached out and did what she had been aching to do for the last three years – she brought her hand to Arizona's cheek, reveling in the warm, soft skin under her palm.

"C—" Arizona began, her voice a near whimper, but she was stopped short when Callie leaned towards her. So close.

Close enough that their lips brushed.

Arizona tilted up her face suddenly, meeting her in the middle. It was a kiss that was soft and sweet and long-overdue. It tasted like everything she had ever wanted but had never had the right words for. It tasted like true love.

Like home.

As Callie felt the pressure of Arizona's lips against hers, she felt her lips lift into an uncontrollable grin. Gently, she pulled away, her fingers sweeping back blonde hair as she did so.

Arizona opened her eyes slowly, looking at Callie partly in awe, partly in fear, and partly in pure surprise. She licked her lips, wanting to swallow as much of the woman she loved as she could.

Their eyes remained on each other, freely re-exploring each other's faces, until, finally, Arizona asked, "Well? Do you?"

Unable to hold back, Callie dipped her head, their lips once again meeting. Melting into each other.

She wrapped her arms around Arizona's waist, pulling the blonde into her, and – finally feeling like she had the right – Arizona wrapped her arms around Callie's back, holding onto her with all she had.

Their lips reacquainted to each other's, and they were surprised and amazed by how perfectly they still fit together. How perfectly they still knew each other. How perfect they were. For each other. Still.

Finally, finally. They were complete. They were exactly where they were supposed to be.

When they pulled away to breathe, foreheads resting together and hearts pounding in their chests, Callie tittered slightly, leaning in to peck Arizona once more.

When she pulled away, hands still gripping the blonde tightly, she breathed,

"_I think you'll know."_


	83. Chapter 83

**Set 10x11. Imagine there was a night between when Arizona slept on the couch and (beginning of the episode) and when they made out (and so forth…) at the end of the episode.**

**So, slight AU of Arizona's first night back in bed after cheating.**

* * *

As Callie got ready for bed and heard Arizona making the couch into a bed outside of their bedroom door, she couldn't help but exhale a painful sigh.

She missed her wife. Like, really, really missed her.

Which was silly, because Arizona was _there_. She was right the other room.

And, yet, Callie felt incapable of asking the blonde to sleep in their bed again.

She felt incapable of forgiving her entirely. It was too hard. It was all too hard.

But she yearned for Arizona's body lying beside hers. It was all she wanted.

After a final minute of deliberation, she headed towards the door, determined to follow her heart and let Arizona back in.

Except, when she tore open the door, there Arizona was, jumping back in surprise and looking like she had been caught red-handed.

"Hi," the blonde breathed.

"Hi," Callie smiled nervously.

Arizona bit her lip in a move that Callie had never been able to resist, and then she shakily offered, "I miss...sleeping with you."

Callie's eyes widened.

"Being with you, I mean," Arizona quickly corrected. "Sleeping in the same bed." She paused. "I was going to ask if I could come back. If I could sleep in here."

She looked at Callie with so much fear and hopefulness that, of course, the brunette couldn't say no. She didn't want to. "Yeah," she sighed, opening the door more widely. "Please."

Exhaling a relieved breath, Arizona walked past her wife, towards what had always been her side of the bed. She didn't move further than that, though. Somehow, she felt as if she didn't have the right.

On the other side of the bed, Callie pulled back the covers. She smiled slightly at the blonde, and that was all the permission Arizona needed to pull back the blankets on her side and sit down.

With her heart beating in her ears, she removed her prosthesis and leaned back on the pillows, looking at Callie out of the corner of her eye.

The brunette was lying beside her, still as stone, eyes closed and taking long, deliberate breaths.

Arizona felt her heart drop. Callie looked as if she were in physical pain, and the blonde knew that it was her fault.

She shut off the lamp and laid flat on her back beside Callie, wanting to reach out to her but not knowing if she could. Fearing how Callie would respond. Or if she would at all.

Before she could make up her mind, she heard Callie turn towards her as her soft voice cut through the heavy silence.

"Whenever I look at your hands, I imagine them on her," Callie began.

As she rolled over to face her, Arizona felt her stomach drop.

"Touching her the way you touch me. So the thought of them on me…" Callie shook her head, feeling daggers stab through her stomach lining. It was unbearable. All of it. "It makes me sick," she croaked.

Arizona's eyes were enormously wide, stormy oceans, unable to tear away from Callie's equally watery orbs as she digested her wife's honest proclamation. "Callie…" she pleaded. She didn't know what she wanted, she just knew it wasn't this. She couldn't bear her wife's pain. She couldn't bear knowing that she caused it.

Callie shook her head. "I mean it, Arizona. I'm sorry, but I do. Right now, anyway," she sighed.

Arizona exhaled a shuddering breath, swallowing the brunette's words. Then, courageously, she asked, "So what can we do? What can _I _do?" Where were they supposed to go from there? They couldn't stay stuck there — stuck in the pain. Not forever.

"You can kiss me," Callie murmured, inching closer to the blonde. "I want you to kiss me," she added. "But don't touch me. No hands."

Arizona was not going to argue against that. Kissing was _something_, at least. What she really ached for was to hold Callie in her arms, but for the moment, she knew that kissing alone would have to suffice. She hadn't been given any other option, and she knew that she didn't deserve one, either.

It was all her fault, after all. If she hadn't been an idiot, if she hadn't freakin' cheated on her _wife_, they wouldn't be where they were then: together but not really together. Needing each other, wanting each other, but not quite being able to forgive each other just yet.

She clenched her fists in an attempt to keep her hands still, and she shifted forward, allowing Callie's entire self to flood her senses.

Gingerly — almost fearfully — she brought her lips to Callie's, their noses lightly brushing as she leaned in. She was still in part terrified that her wife would pull away or scream in agony, as if Arizona wasn't the woman she loved but, instead, a monster gnawing on her, eating her alive.

But Callie didn't pull away or scream or run for the door. Instead, she brought her hands to Arizona's face, her right coming to tangle into blonde hair as she insistently kept pale pink lips on hers.

As Callie's tongue emerged to stroke against Arizona's, the blonde unconsciously lifted a hand onto Callie's hip, wanting to bring her closer. Wanting to be closer. To be one.

Immediately, Callie stilled her lips, pulling away. "No hands," she reminded Arizona fiercely.

An almost mangled-sounding whimper escaped the blonde's lips. How could Callie expect Arizona not to touch her? She couldn't stand it. All she wanted to do was hold her.

"Callie, please," she begged. At that point, she wasn't above begging. What did she have to lose?

Callie huffed, pulling away entirely and rolling onto her back, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Maybe this isn't a good idea. Maybe we shouldn't—"

"No," Arizona argued before Callie could even finish, terrified of what she might say.

Callie just shook her head, still not meeting her wife's teary eyes.

"Callie," Arizona breathed. "Please look at me."

Finally — almost regretfully — Callie turned her head towards Arizona, her eyes filled with omnipresent despair and despondency.

And Arizona couldn't stand it: staring into eyes that used to look at her with a sense of love and wonder, and now only viewed her through a thick sheen of pain and betrayal.

"Can you please look at me and _see _me?" Arizona beseeched. "I love you and," she held up her hands, "I didn't touch Lauren and Leah the way I touch you."

Callie's face bleached white at the mention of the names of the women Arizona had carelessly screwed. And, once again, she felt that pain in her chest grow. It threatened to consume her.

"I didn't," Arizona continued impassionedly. Her voice fading to a mere whisper, she continued softly, "I've never touched anyone the way I touch you." Gently, she brought her hand to Callie's face, lightly brushing it across a soft caramel cheek. She prepared for her wife to tear away from her. She prepared for the agony.

Instead, chocolate brown eyes screwed shut; Callie wanted so badly to reject the touch. To not want it. But she _did _want it, and as Arizona's thumb lightly began to caress her cheek, her face relaxed. She couldn't help but give into the feeling. Because, really, she had ached for this.

For Arizona.

"You are the woman I love," Arizona soothed, her tone of voice coming out as giving and as loving as a late-night lullaby. "And I know I messed up. I know I hurt you. But, _please_, let me make it up to you. Let me _love _you," her voice raised in disquietude and desperation. And, uncomfortably, she worked on taking a deep breath, exhaling shakily against Callie's cheek. "Let me hold you, again."

Callie opened her eyes, a tear rolling down the bridge of her nose and onto the mattress below as she stared intently into sad blue eyes. "Arizona," she began. Consumed with grief, she decided to be honest. To say the words that had been true to her that awful storm several months before. "You broke my heart." As she attempted to say the words — the truth that plagued her — her voice roughly broke with just that: heartbreak.

Arizona's soothing thumb stilled as her stomach bottomed out. Her throat closed as newfound tears pricked her already stinging eyes. God, she couldn't stand this.

"And I want to hate you," Callie continued. "I want to...not want you so badly. But I can't." Hesitantly, she looked up into watchful cerulean eyes — eyes that could read her better than anyone else's ever had. Eyes that felt like both hell and home. "You're both the only one who can destroy me and the only one who can make me feel better."

"So let me make you feel better," Arizona pleaded, her hand moving to stroke the sweet spot beneath Callie's ear. "_Please_."

Callie drew in a deep breath, wanting to fight her wife's desperate pleas. Wanting to fight her own wants. Her own _needs_.

But she couldn't. She was helpless against Arizona. She always had been. She brought her shaky hand to the blonde's face, tracing the worry line between her eyebrows and then moving her caramel thumb to reverently run down the subtle bow of her lips.

Arizona's eyes dropped closed as she fell victim to the touch she so desired. At the feeling of Callie's soft skin against her lips, miserable wet tears fell from her eyes.

Callie slowly wiped them away, whispering, "Open your eyes."

Arizona lifted the lids of her cloudy eyes, looking deeply into Callie's generous orbs.

After a silent moment passed between them, Callie proclaimed, "I love you. I'm still in love with you. When I said that I would spend the rest of my life with you, I meant it. And I still do. Even after..." she shook her head, clearing it. "Even now."

"Me, too," Arizona promised meekly. It was all she could offer in return.

Callie nodded softly, then sighed. "But I'm still so mad at you. I'm still so...disappointed. And heartbroken. And…" she closed her eyes for a moment. "I just can't believe it, Arizona."

Arizona's eyes once again welled up with tears. She was ashamed. She was ashamed of herself.

"But I'm willing to let you earn my trust back," Callie continued. "I'm going to keep loving you until you do, and then I'm going to love you even more."

Arizona felt her heart begin to flutter in her ears, and a sense of relief set off like fireworks in her heart. As she felt her bottom lip tremble, she brought her hands up to cover her face. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed, unable to stand herself.

It wasn't fair. To have gone through this. To be in so much pain. To have caused so much pain.

To be loved so much.

"Shhh," Callie soothed, her hand running down Arizona's side. "I know you are. Me, too."

With tears and snot and pain streaming down her swollen red cheeks, Arizona lifted her hands from her face. She held them in midair, fighting to keep them off Callie. God, all she wanted to do was hug her. To hold her. To be together. To be _one_. "Calliope," she whimpered. "Can I please—"

"Yes," Callie finally gave in, pulling Arizona's body to her. "You can."

Relieved, Arizona exhaled a shallow breath and gratefully wrapped her arms around Callie's back, pulling the woman she loved against her. Slowly, her breathing evened out as the brunette buried her face into Arizona's chest, kissing every inch of bare skin she could find.

"I missed you," Callie breathed against a warm clavicle before she could stop herself. Because it was true. Arizona had broken her heart, but she hadn't meant to. Not really. So much had happened that year. They'd gone through so much...

"I missed you, too," Arizona murmured, ducking her face into delicious black hair. "So much, And I'll do whatever it takes — whatever you need — for you to trust me again. I promise."

"Okay," Callie's head bobbed in acceptance against Arizona's chest. "But, tonight, just be here, okay? I just want to be here with you. For us to be okay tonight." She closed her eyes, finally feeling as if she was where she belonged.

"_Yes_," Arizona immediately agreed, her arms tightening around the brunette as if, in that very instant, holding her was the most important thing in the world. And for Arizona, it was.

Closing her eyes, she repeated one last time, "I'm sorry. I love you."

Callie kissed the soft space between her porcelain chest and breast, murmuring, "I know. And I'm still so angry. But I'll forgive you."

Because, despite everything, it was that simple. She was still furious and heartbroken. Her heart still felt burned and charred, but knew she would forgive Arizona. Because she knew that she either needed to forgive her or end their relationship. End their love.

And that wasn't possible for her, because she knew that she would keep loving Arizona. She always would.

So forgiveness was the only option. Forgiveness and moving forward.

"_I love you, too_."


	84. Chapter 84

**Set after 9x10. The night of Bailey's wedding.**

* * *

"So," Callie prompted as she climbed into bed. "It ended up being a good day, huh?"

"It did," Arizona smiled genuinely, for the first time in a while.

Callie smiled back, then climbed into bed, turning off her bedside lamp. As she scooted down the bed and moved to turn onto her side, she was surprised to see Arizona's eyes on her.

They'd begun sharing a bed again several weeks before, but Arizona always had still been…distant. And, as Callie had mentioned earlier, there had been a foot-wide demilitarized zone down the middle of the bed – Arizona always facing away from her, refusing to participate in any semblance of intimacy.

Not just physically, either. Internally. Emotionally.

But that day, apparently something had changed, because there Arizona was: staring at her with an expression that looked a lot like love.

"Today felt really good, Callie," Arizona whispered, staring into Callie's dark eyes.

Callie felt an overwhelming smile take over her features. "For me, too," she breathed.

Arizona bit her lip, looking down for a second before nervously meeting her wife's curious eyes. "Do you think…we could maybe make out a little more?"

Callie couldn't help but laugh at Arizona's hesitant question, because _seriously_? "Do you really expect me to say no to that?"

Arizona chuckled softly. "I guess not."

She sucked in a nervous breath as she leaned towards Callie; somehow, she still wasn't used to this, even though they'd kissed hundreds of times before. It had just been so long. It was making her somehow anxious.

On top of the blankets, Callie lightly and chastely set her hand on Arizona's waist. She didn't pull the blonde in, though; she wanted to let her wife initiate the kiss at her own pace.

Leaning in closer, Arizona gently reached out, cupping Callie's face with her hand. She tilted her head as her eyes fell closed, lightly brushing the brunette's lips with her own.

As she captured her wife's bottom lip between hers, she felt Callie's hand on her tighten.

Then, _god_. She felt Callie's warm, wet tongue stroke along her own. It had to the best feeling. One she hadn't even realized she'd missed until earlier that day.

As nimble fingers brushed across her cheek, Callie felt her heart glow. She'd ached for this – for Arizona – for so long.

Her thumb lightly caressed the blonde's waist, working hard to keep the touch innocent.

As Arizona pulled away, their foreheads resting together, Callie opened her eyes and stared into the dark cerulean orbs she adored.

Arizona smiled shyly, her fingers coming to stroke through thick black hair. "Hi," she breathed against Callie's mouth, allowing the brunette to taste her warm, sweet breath.

"Hi," Callie smiled. God, the day had been good.

"I love you."

Callie's voice caught at hearing those three words, and she couldn't help but lean in and peck Arizona's pink lips one more, this time in pure gratitude. "I love you, too."

Correction: the day had been _perfect_.


	85. Chapter 85

**Written after 12x02, but it takes place far, far into the future.**

**P.S. Writing this was exhausting. Feels very, very satisfying to finally finish.**

**P.P.S. If there are any grammatical mistakes, please alert me to them! I was too lazy to read through this more than twice. So long!**

* * *

Arizona had a plan. A long, complicated plan. A plan that was comprised of a number of steps. A plan that she'd been considering for a long time.

A plan that she finally felt ready to execute.

Step One — perhaps the most important step — had taken place even before anything else had been considered. In retrospect, after the rest of the plan came to be, Arizona realized that Step One — which determined the rest of the steps — had been: to come home.

Home.

Not to her and Callie's new house, per se — though she adored that beautiful, quintessential place.

But no. Not the house.

For Arizona, "home" had never been a place. As a kid, she'd moved around so often that "home" came to signify the people she loved and was surrounded with: her family. Her parents. Her brother. Her German Shepherd, Roxy, while she'd been alive.

But over the course of the past decade, home hadn't meant her parents, anymore. And it certainly hadn't meant Tim.

It had meant Callie. And then also Sofia.

They were home to her.

And without them, she had been homeless: never taking up a permanent residence, always somehow hoping she wouldn't have to. That she'd somehow find her way back home.

So, throughout the time she and Callie had been apart, she had refused to buy a house or even rent one of her own. She never could have standed the thought of something so permanent just for her.

Not when Callie had still felt like home. Not when she had still loved Callie so entirely.

And Arizona had later discovered that, somehow, despite everything, Callie had still loved her during that time, too.

And, then, against all odds, they had managed to make their puzzle pieces fit. They'd managed to glue them in place forever.

And, with that, Step One – coming home – had been accomplished.

Step Two, however, was more complicated. It was made up of a number of sub-steps — all of which would be realized that day.

Arizona hadn't always been planning for Step Two to take place that day. It previously had been more of an abstract concept, with no due date or parameters.

Step Two was The Hunt.

She'd had the scavenger hunt planned for a while, sure, but she hadn't picked out a specific day in advance.

That is, she hadn't until one night the week before.

Really, that night hadn't been any different from their usual evenings at home these days, which simply involved making dinner, helping Sofia with her homework, putting her to bed, and then showering and finally sleeping themselves (though, on many occasions, they'd have sex before the latter took place).

* * *

Arizona had been making rice by the stove when she felt Callie snake her arms around her from behind, hugging her around the waist and nuzzling her nose into a porcelain neck.

At the warm contact, Arizona had felt her entire body begin to hum, her heart happily thrumming in her chest as it always had every time Callie touched her — no matter how innocently.

"How was your day?" Callie had asked as casually as ever, just reveling in the feeling of Arizona in her arms, feeling her smaller body against her own, breathing in her sweet familiar scent, and being grateful that she could love the blonde again.

That she could really, truly love her and that she could _show it_, again. She no longer had to attempt to control or stop her love for Arizona, because they had both changed. They had each grown separately, in just the right ways. They'd grown back towards one another.

Which wasn't to say that they hadn't grown prior to their divorce. They had been two mangled trees, growing with opposite trajectories. They had fought the wind, attempting to remain beside each other and to provide the other with much-needed nutrients, but it had only impeded their own growth and well-being.

Somehow, however, their separation had allowed them to each grow strong individually, making way for them to find their way back to each other.

Time apart had been needed. It was what led them to where they were: back together. Wrapped around each other.

Home.

"It was good," Arizona had murmured, smiling. "Even better now." She had leaned back into Callie's embrace, and the taller woman in turn brushed her lips along the narrow nape of Arizona's neck, the blonde feeling the lips against her neck part into a smile.

* * *

The pure, unadulterated tenderness of the evening had worked to reaffirm what Arizona had already known: that she wanted Callie forever.

That she wanted Callie to be _hers_.

Entirely hers.

Forever.

Officially.

And, well, immediately.

Which is what brought Step Two into action.

Step Two — not the scariest step, but certainly the most complex and time consuming.

Step Two: The Hunt.

She had meticulously (and clandestinely) been planning it all week, talking to coworkers and friends, and making sure that it would be something Callie really liked.

She knew the brunette as well as she knew herself, so she knew that Callie would want something fun, romantic, public, and _grand_.

And that was exactly what she would get.

Though Arizona had to work that day, she woke up early (super early) to drive around the city and make sure that everything was in place.

She left Callie a card on the kitchen counter and was out the door. She had to compartmentalize her nerves; she had surgeries to do and patients to see until eight o'clock that evening, when she would get off work and would execute Step Three.

Step Three was The Proposal.

And she really had to mentally prepare for that.

* * *

Callie woke up with a start.

She had a plan. A huge plan. A plan she'd been considering for a long time. In fact, though she hadn't admitted it to herself at the time, it was something she'd been planning even while she and Arizona had been separated. When the Supreme Court ruled for marriage equality in every state, she couldn't have helped but think of Arizona immediately — even despite their situation, at the time.

She couldn't have helped the plan that arose in her mind, just in case — against all odds — she and Arizona had managed to find their way back to each other.

And they had.

So, there she was, months later, ready to bite the bullet and finally ask the woman she loved to be her legal wife. Forever.

She hadn't planned to propose on that day specifically all along; it had been something she decided only the week before. She and Arizona had spent a typical evening at home, but Callie had realized that it all just felt _right_: her life with Arizona then. It felt like being together, with Arizona in her arms, was the way things were meant to be.

She wanted that forever. That simplicity of them holding each other, supporting each other, being _there_ for each other.

Forever.

That was all she really wanted: for Arizona to be entirely hers, and for her to be entirely Arizona's. And she wanted the woman she loved to know that.

So she was going to propose. As soon as Arizona came home from work that evening, she was going to propose.

She had attempted to plan something the blonde would like. Something subdued and private for the proposal itself, and then something fun afterwards.

But not a surprise party, that was for sure.

No. The proposal itself would involve a sweet night at home, filled with homemade paella and lots of sweet sangria.

Then, the following evening, they would meet their friends for drinks at Joe's in celebration.

After all, Joe's was to thank for their first interaction. It was there that Callie had first fallen for Arizona.

Callie set up everything but the food in the living room soon as soon as she woke up, wanting to make sure everything was perfect. Then, satisfied, she walked towards the kitchen to make breakfast at last.

It was only while shoveling hot, sugary oatmeal into her mouth that she caught sight of a red envelope. Curiously, she looked more closely and saw Arizona's sloppy, feminine cursive spelling out her name.

Smiling, she ripped open the envelope and peeked at the card inside.

It read:

_Callie,_

_I know you're bummed that we don't both have the day off today, but I planned something fun to make it up to you. _

_You said once that your parents used to hide your birthday presents and send you on scavenger hunts to find them. I know it's not your birthday, but well, I love you. And I planned a scavenger hunt for you today, anyway. It'll give you something to do._

_Here's the first clue:_

_The few people who know about this spot might say that it has the most beautiful view. _

_P.S. I might argue that, really, I did this morning, when I woke up to you sleeping soundly beside me. _

_P.P.S. That has nothing to do with the clue. Just added commentary._

At the additional comments, Callie couldn't contain the goofy smile that overtook her features. She was _so_ in love with this woman. Her love for Arizona only grew with each passing day.

She didn't know how that was even possible, but it was true.

Then, she forced herself to actually consider the clue. In truth, she hadn't gone on a scavenger hunt in over twenty five years, even though she had loved them as a kid. She was amazed and pleased that Arizona had even remembered her love for them; she'd mentioned it once, maybe, and years ago.

The clue stated that "few people" knew about the spot, and that it had a beautiful view.

Immediately, she thought of the bench where she and Arizona used to share lunch years before, when they had initially gotten together.

Knowing how scavenger hunts worked, she got in her car and began driving towards the park located by the hospital. It was beyond sweet that Arizona had planned something for her to do on her lonely day off, but really, she had things to do.

Shopping to do. Food to cook. Nerves to calm.

She had a proposal to prepare for.

So, quickly, she drove towards where she knew the next clue would be. She needed time to finish her plan. She needed to decide how she would ask Arizona to be her real, legal wife—once and for all. Once and forever.

Unlike Arizona, Callie didn't have a way with words. She knew that she was often nervous and spastic when asking the Big Questions.

And the question she was planning on asking was _most definitely_ Big, so she needed time to think.

She needed to complete the scavenger hunt quickly.

* * *

"Good morning!" Arizona chirped as she walked towards Alex and Meredith.

"Morning," Meredith smiled.

Alex grunted a hello.

"Is everyone good with the plan?" she asked. "Meet a block from Joe's at eight and go inside only after you see Callie walk in."

Meredith raised her eyebrow at the blonde. When Arizona had originally shared her plan, Mer had not wanted to help.

But Callie was her friend. And she decided to take part in it when Callie had told her about her _own plan_ to propose to Arizona.

Because, as it turned out, both women had decided to propose on the very same evening. At the same time. And everyone but them knew it.

The outcome of it all would be far too comedic not to take part in, so there Meredith was, ready to go to Joe's that evening.

"We've got it," Alex assured her.

"Yay!" Arizona exclaimed excitedly. "Alex, we have a patient in Room 332. You coming?"

"Uh...Yeah..." Alex began, fidgeting. "I've got to do something first, though. I'll meet you there."

Arizona looked at him quizzically. What was with the aura of mystery? "Okaaay. But don't take too long, or I'll do the whole surgery myself," she threatened jokingly.

"Right," Alex faked his best smile, hoping his mentor wouldn't see through his façade.

"What was that about?" Meredith asked in amusement once the blonde had turned and walked away.

Alex scowled. "Callie called."

Meredith grinned. "Is anyone going to tell them what's going on? I'm surprised they haven't already figured it out."

Alex laughed. "I'm not saying anything. It's going to be hilarious."

Alex dialed the phone, and Callie picked up on the first ring with an, "Alex! Why didn't you answer?"

"I'm working!" he defended. "_What_?"

"I need your help. Make sure Arizona comes home at eight, right after her shift ends. Do _not_ let her go into a late surgery. If she does, take over."

"Why do I have to be a part of this?" Alex whined.

"Because she _loves you,_" Callie explained. "And you love her."

"Whatever."

"Don't forget! And I'll see you tomorrow night at Joe's, right?"

"Wait, why?"

Callie sighed in exasperation. "I've told you this! Engagement party! Food! Drinks! 7 p.m."

"Okay!" he conceded. "I'll be there."

"Good," Callie huffed. "Anyway, I'll see you later. Tell Arizona hi for me!"

Alex rolled his eyes. His friends were so in love that it was sickening. Sickeningly sweet, sure, but sickening, nevertheless. "Fine. Bye."

"Bye!"

As she hung up the phone, Callie parallel parked her car on the road across the street from the park, then walked towards the bench she knew well. It had been a long time since she'd been there, unfortunately, but it looked exactly as she remembered. The park included a sprawling field of lush green grass adorned with a well-loved playground and, just out of view, the infamous secluded bench.

Callie ambled through the meadow, breathing in the crisp spring air and the sound of kids' laughter.

And, arriving at her destination, she saw that there, in the center of the bench, was...

Nothing?

She looked all around the wooden frame, thinking maybe the clue had blown away, but she didn't see anything that resembled the envelope Arizona had left for her that morning.

So she pulled out her phone, determined to go straight to the source; Arizona would have tell her the next clue herself.

* * *

Arizona and Maggie were wrist deep in Julia Baumgartner's tiny chest cavity when a phone began ringing, and a nurse offered, "Dr. Robbins, it's yours. Dr. Torres is on the other line. Do you want me to pick up?"

Arizona widened her eyes at Maggie. "Should we pick up? What if she guessed the plan?!"

Maggie wanted to laugh at her friend. Callie and Arizona were both so clueless. "Answer it!"

"You talk!" Arizona insisted. "Pretend I'm not here!"

"Wait, what?" Maggie questioned. That made no sense.

"Answer it!" Arizona called towards the nurse.

The nurse answered the phone, putting it on speaker.

Arizona signaled Maggie to speak, and quickly, the woman answered, "Hello?"

"Hello?" Callie asked on the other end of the line. "Arizona?"

"No, uh," Maggie began. "It's Maggie. Hi."

"Maggie? Why did you answer Arizona's phone?"

Maggie's eyes shifted around the room. "Uhhh, we're in surgery?"

"She can't talk?" Callie wasn't understanding. "Is she okay?!"

"I'm here," Arizona quickly interjected before Callie had time to worry.

Maggie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, hey," Callie grinned, her voice oozing love. "I loved my surprise this morning, but have a question."

Arizona felt her heart pound. She didn't want to lie...but she wanted her plan to be a surprise. She hoped Callie hadn't guessed her plan to propose.

"I'm at our bench," Callie continued. "But there's no clue!"

"Oh," Arizona sighed in relief. "Did you look underneath it?"

"Hold on," Callie moved to look beneath the bench, and there, taped to the wood, was a slip of paper. "Found it!"

"Yay!" Arizona cheered.

"Thank you. Oh, and also, make sure you come home right after work tonight, okay?"

Arizona looked up at Maggie, but the heart surgeon shrugged in mock-ignorance.

"Did you...have something planned?" Arizona asked carefully.

"Uh, yeah," Callie felt her voice rise in pitch as she avoided giving details. "A nice dinner for just the two of us. Sof is going to Mia's for a sleepover birthday party, remember? Mer's taking her and Zola at five."

Arizona bit her lip. "Right. Could we maybe do that tomorrow, instead? A bunch of us are meeting at Joe's after work. I forgot to tell you, but I, uh, agreed that we'd go a while ago."

Callie frowned. _Seriously_? What about her _plan_? "Do you really want to go?" she asked quietly.

Arizona cringed. Why did Callie sound so disappointed? "I think we should. We could have a super late dinner afterwards?" she offered hopefully.

Callie huffed, and the entire OR staff could hear it as her despondency echoed around the room. "Sure. Joe's at eight?" she sighed.

"Exactly," Arizona smiled. Callie would forgive her once she showed up at Joe's that evening. "See you then. Keep hunting!"

"I will," Callie promised.

So, she'd have to propose a few hours later. She'd have to rewarm the paella. That wasn't a _huge_ deal. Right? "Go, save lives. I'll see you tonight."

"Bye!" Arizona called.

"Bye! Bye, Maggie!"

"Bye!" Maggie countered.

As the call ended, Arizona breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you think she'll figure it out?"

"Nope," Maggie responded, also thinking of Arizona herself. "She has_ no idea_."

* * *

Ripping the slip of paper from the park bench, Callie turned it over and read what Arizona had written on it:

_This place made for an unexpected and unforgettable Valentine's Day. _

She smirked. That couldn't mean anything but Derek's old trailer. She raced back to her car, in a hurry again. She needed time to plan her proposal, after all.

As she drove towards Meredith and Derek's old land, towards the trailer that was empty for the time being, she thought about everything she still needed to do.

She still needed to buy paella rice, peas, chorizo, clams, mussels, shrimp, bell peppers, green beans, onion, garlic, chicken, white fish, red wine, brandy, Sprite, cherries, grapes, lemons, limes, oranges, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.

_Oh, boy_, Callie thought._ I have my work cut out for me. _

She raced up to the trailer's steps, yanking down the slip of paper taped meticulously to the center of the door.

It read:

_You looked really, really hot here, once._

Was that _it_? That clue did Callie no good. She turned the slip of paper over, searching for something — anything — else to help her.

Thankfully, her prayers were answered, as Arizona had added on the other side:

_And sporty. Does that help at all?_

It did. Arizona, being a girly girl, hated sports. The one place that Arizona had really seen Callie looking sporty was at the field downtown where they played softball against Seattle Presbyterian every year.

So off she went. And quickly.

* * *

"Dr. Robbins!" Jo called towards her mentor and ex-roommate from down the hall. "Arizona!"

Having heard her name, Arizona turned on her heel, smiling at the resident who was currently scurrying towards her.

Out of breath, the resident asked, "Do you...still want me to wait for Dr. Torres at the softball field with the next clue? She'll probably be there soon, right? My shift just ended."

Arizona looked down at her watch. It was still pretty early. Callie couldn't already be heading towards the field, could she?

That wouldn't work. Because, really, if Callie showed up at Joe's for the last clue any earlier than eight, Arizona wouldn't be there and everything would be ruined.

Because Arizona needed to be there. That was where Step Three would take place. "Uh…" she began shakily. "Yeah. Go wait for her. And thank you."

"Sure," Jo nodded, determined to help.

* * *

"Torres!" Jo called out, waving her superior over.

Callie knit her eyebrows together as she walked towards the resident. What was Jo doing – alone – at the old softball field? "Wilson?" she questioned.

"Dr. Robbins wanted me to meet you here," Jo explained. She held up a slip of paper. "I have the next clue."

"Oh," Callie nodded, as if that explanation made perfect sense. Which, of course, it didn't. It was just a scavenger hunt. Why would Arizona go through the work of sending Jo Wilson out to hand her the next clue personally?

Before she could grab the clue, though, Jo threw her arm back, not giving it to Callie just yet. "So…" she stalled, "How's your day going?" Arizona had sent her there to stall Callie, after all.

"It's going well," Callie quipped. She really needed to get going if she wanted to have time to plan everything for the proposal.

"Great!" Jo gushed enthusiastically. She had no idea what she should talk to the Head of Orthopedics about. In all honesty, Callie had always intimidated her, a little. "Uh…" she began. "Are you working tomorrow?"

"No, are you?" In truth, Callie couldn't care less if Jo was working. She just wanted her clue and to hurry this thing along. Suddenly remembering her plans, she leveled a look at Jo. "You're not working after eight tomorrow, right? So that you came come to Arizona's and my engagement party at Joe's?" _Assuming she says yes_, Callie added silently, but really, she wasn't too worried.

She knew that marriage was only a formality, and one Arizona likely wouldn't care much about, but Callie did. She knew that, regardless, the two of them would spend their lives together. They had decided that — no matter what — they wanted to spend their lives together. So marriage didn't really matter. But still.

She wanted Arizona to be her all. Legally.

"I'll be there; I'll be there!" Jo quickly assured her.

"Good," Callie nodded, satisfied. She signaled towards the clue. "May I?"

Jo nervously bit her lip, hiding the clue behind her back. "You know," she cleared her throat. "I really admire you as a surgeon."

"Oh, yeah?" Callie asked, suddenly distracted by the praise.

Jo nodded profusely. "You're one of the best surgeons at Grey-Sloan," she continued, pleased that the distraction was effective. "Probably ever."

Callie grinned, but she made a point to humbly argue, "I don't know about that…"

"No, you are," Jo insisted. She felt awkward just standing there and asked, "I've been meaning to ask you about your best surgery." She signaled to a nearby bench. "Maybe you could tell me about it?"

Callie was about to give in, clearly honored by the praise, but then she remembered: she was supposed to be proposing that night. She did not have time to tell a resident her life story. Not that day. "I can't," she lamented. "I'm actually trying to get this treasure hunt over with."

Jo pouted out her lower lip. She couldn't stall much longer. "Are you, um, getting drinks with us tonight? At eight?"

Callie nodded, grumbling, "Apparently. You know that I _wanted_ to propose as soon as Arizona got home, but whatever. It'll have to happen afterwards."

"Right," Jo nodded.

"Which means that I have less time to get everything done," Callie explained impatiently. "So," she held out her hand. "Clue, please."

Contritely, Jo placed the envelope into Callie's hand. "Here," she stated. Arizona may have wanted her to fight harder against Callie, but Jo figured that she couldn't without raising some suspicion as to why.

"Thank you," Callie said, turning to walk away. Then, turning back, she curiously asked, "Did you really want to hear about by best surgery?"

Surprised, Jo offered a, "Yeah," realizing that she _did_. She wanted to learn from Callie's experience. "I'd love to," she added genuinely.

Callie smiled. "Okay. Find me at lunch sometime. I'd be happy to tell you."

Jo shone back at her. "I will. Thank you, Dr. Torres."

"Sure," Callie chirped, turning away and already breaking open the seal to find out where she was going next.

* * *

_Our favorite on-call room_, the clue read.

And so, hurriedly, that's where Callie went.

She knew the on-call room well. It was where they had hooked up often after they had first gotten together and where they had spent quiet, comfortable lunches on long days.

In fact, they'd taken a nap there together only several days before, reveling in the warmth and comfort of each other despite the cold, narrow bed.

Callie headed for the Peds Ward, hoping, in part, to see Arizona as she made her pit-stop. She threw open the on-call room door, and there it was. A tiny clue, on the middle of the bed.

But she didn't open it right away. Because she missed Arizona, and she wanted to see her before that night.

Seeing that her name wasn't on the OR board, Callie scoured the hospital hallways, searching for familiar blonde hair.

Arizona was talking to April, heading towards the cafeteria, when she caught sight of Callie.

"Shoot!" she hissed, leaping behind April.

"Arizona…?" April questioned, giggling a little. "Can I help you?"

"It's Callie!" Arizona whispered. "To your left."

"And…?" April asked.

"If I talk to her, I know I'll give it away. And I want it to be a surprise." She peeped out from behind April's shoulder. "Where is she?"

"Coming this way," April smirked, kind of enjoying how freaked out her friend was.

"Hide me!" Arizona squealed. Thankfully, the waiting room was busy, because otherwise, Callie would have seen her long ago.

"It's okay," April assured her. "It's fine. She just turned to walk down another hallway."

Hesitantly, Arizona stepped out from behind her friend. "Oh, good."

April cackled. "Are you seriously worried about tonight? She loves you." Honestly, _she_ knew that Arizona had nothing to worry about, considering that Callie was considering to propose at the same time. Obviously, it was fate. It was meant to be. But Arizona didn't know that, yet.

"Not worried," Arizona defended. But, well, she was. Just a little bit. Which was crazy, because she knew that Callie wanted to spend the rest of her life together. But, still. Proposing was a big deal.

"Everything will turn out great," April squeezed her shoulder.

* * *

Callie ended up in the cafeteria. She had scoured most of the hospital and, still, Arizona was nowhere in sight. Deciding that she didn't have any more time to look, she peeked at the clue.

_I first saw you here. I first wanted you here. And you had no idea. _

Callie felt a smile tease her lips. She still had no idea. Where could that have been?

"Callie!" she heard someone call, and she looked around to find Maggie waving her over.

"Hey, Maggie," Callie smiled as she sat down. "Alex."

"'Sup?" Alex asked, his mouth full.

"This is for you," Maggie handed Callie a slip of paper.

Callie knit her eyebrows together. "Oh. This is where she…" she tapered off. Had Arizona first fallen for her when she'd seen her eating lunch in the cafeteria?

Somehow, that felt completely crazy and undeniably flattering. The thought of Arizona becoming so immensely intrigued and attracted to her while Callie had laughed and sulked and eaten lunch with her friends as if no one was watching seemed unreal.

Maggie shrugged. "Arizona said to give you this after you found the clue in the on-call room."

So she _had_ been right. The cafeteria had been where Arizona had first seen her. And wanted her.

Callie felt her stomach bubble gleefully at the thought, feeling like a cold Diet Coke on a hot day.

"Cool," she chirped, ready to get going. She had things to do. "I better go. Thank you," she added genuinely.

"Wait!" Maggie stopped her. "Are you ready for tonight?"

Callie frowned. "Not even close. Which is why I'm dashing off."

"Right," Maggie nodded. "Good luck!"

* * *

Callie headed back towards her car, ripping open the envelope to get a look at the next clue.

It read:

_You lived here. I lived here. But never at the same time._

Callie had to wrack her brain for that one. It couldn't have been Arizona's old apartment. It couldn't have been Mark's apartment. Or their old apartment. Or their old house. What was left?

Meredith's house. Of course.

She hopped into her car, speeding towards Mer's.

When she got to the doorstep, she inspected the door, but there was no clue. She looked down at her feet and – again – no clue. Finally, she looked under the doormat and, to her dismay, there was still no clue. Where could it be?

Before she could head back to her car to call Arizona and ask for help, Meredith threw open the door.

"Hi," Meredith greeted. "Are you here for the clue?"

Callie nodded. "Do you have it?"

"Yeah," Meredith smirked. "Come in."

Arizona had texted Meredith after she got home, begging her to stall Callie's progression for a while. And, though she usually wouldn't have, Meredith decided to do her part in making sure that the proposal was successful. She liked Callie and Arizona together, after all, and she wanted her friends to be happy.

As Callie followed her friend into the familiar house, Meredith asked, "Do you want coffee? Some fruit?"

"No, thank you," Callie replied politely. "I have so much to do before tonight. I actually need to get going soon."

Meredith eyed her from across the kitchen island. "Here's the dilemma," she began apologetically. "You and I are supposed to catch up. That's part of Arizona's thing."

Callie's eyes widened. "Why?" she asked, then quickly added, "Not that I mind. Mer, you know that I love talking to you. But do we have to catch up _today_?"

Meredith nodded sincerely. "At least for a few minutes. Otherwise, she'll kill me. Tell me about your proposal. Are you ready?"

"No!" Callie exclaimed, frustrated. "This scavenger hunt is sweet – don't get me wrong – but it's taking up the entire day! And I really, really need to cook and make sangria and –" She threw up her hands. "I have a lot to do."

Meredith nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure that it'll go great. She'll love it."

Callie smiled, thinking of Arizona. "I hope so. I hope she's…not opposed to getting married again."

"She's not," Meredith assured her. Because she knew something that Callie didn't. She knew that Arizona was gung-ho for getting married again. She knew that Arizona wanted to marry Callie just as much as Callie wanted to marry Arizona.

"How do you know?!" Callie asked nervously, still not even an ounce of suspicion in her voice. Just curiosity and a need for assurance.

Meredith shrugged, dodging the question. "I can just tell." She walked towards the fridge and took an envelope down from where it was being held up by a magnet. "Here," she handed it to her friend.

Callie gratefully took it. As she headed back towards her car, she read the clue.

It just had one word on it:

_Mark_.

Callie took a shuddering breath. Was Arizona really sending her to Mark's grave? But, with a sigh, she got into her car and headed towards the graveyard.

Her feet dragged as she edged towards Mark's burial site, only realizing she had reached it when she saw Derek Christopher Shepherd's name plate beneath her feet.

"Derek…" she breathed shakily. "We miss you."

And then, there was Mark, his grave right beside his best friend's. _Mark_. The only physical evidence left of his physical form was beneath her two feet. And, god, she missed him. Missing him came in long, painful waves.

She smiled, though, when she noted a dozen fresh yellow roses, and a dozen fresh red ones lying beside his grave.

She picked up the yellow roses, reading the label.

_Mark_, it read.

_We miss you and love you_.

– _Arizona, Callie, and Sofia_

Callie smiled despite herself. God, she loved Arizona. Her love for the blonde was all-consuming.

Setting them back over his headstone, she picked up the dozen red roses and read,

_Callie,_

_Hey. You're beautiful. _

_These ones are for you._

Callie's smile grew wider, despite the scene's poignant nature. How early had Arizona woken up to plan all this?

Finally, she noticed a slip of paper taped to the headstone. She picked it up, unfolding it and reading Arizona's tiny scrawl.

_Did I ever tell you that I promised Mark I'd always protect you and Sofia? _

_While we were still in the woods, he was lying on my legs, partly because I was warm and mostly because his head put pressure on my femur to help stop the bleeding. And he told me to take care of you two. I told him he'd be okay — I forced him to say he'd be okay — but he knew it was bad even before the rest of us realized it. He wasn't scared, Callie. He wanted his happy ending with Lexie, and he knew I'd be there to make sure you two would be okay. _

_And I know I wasn't always there when I should have been. And Mark would have killed me for everything I put you through, had he lived, but well..._

_I hope you know that I never really left. You have to know that now. Even when we were apart, even when everything was so weird between us during those three years apart, I still would have walked through fire for you. If anything had happened to you, if you had ever needed anything, I would have been there in seconds. I would have been there to do what I promised. And, now, I really will. I plan to take care of you two for the rest of my life, Callie. I promise you that right now_.

By the time Callie had finished reading, tears were streaming down her face. It was downright unfair that Mark had to have died due to the plane crash, but Callie was so, so grateful that the woman she loved had survived.

Mark dying had just about killed her, but Arizona dying…

It surely would have.

She flipped the paper over, reading the next clue.

_Us and a bunch of twinkly lights_.

That meant Seattle's "most romantic restaurant," Callie realized immediately. But it was already four o'clock, and she had things to do.

Arizona wouldn't be upset if she finished the hunt a little later, would she?

Callie decided that, instead of immediately going to the next location, she would take a few hours to get ready for that night. Everything needed to be _perfect_ by the time the two of them got home from Joe's.

So, from four until seven-fifteen, she slaved away in the kitchen, making Spanish paella, preparing homemade Sangria, and setting out every candle they had – prepared to be lit.

Finally, realizing she had very little time left before she had to go out and meet Arizona and her friends, she showered, changed into a nicer outfit, applied a little makeup, and was out the door.

She had a few more stops to make before finishing the scavenger hunt. And, now, she _really_ had to hurry.

She raced into the restaurant, where the maître d' immediately handed Callie an envelope.

Callie's brows furrowed. "How'd you know to give me this?"

The man shrugged. "Your fiancé described you in perfect detail," he explained.

"She's not my –" Callie paused, shaking her head. Whatever. Arizona would be her fiancé soon enough.

She hoped.

"Thank you!" she called as she headed out the door.

What now?

Opening the envelope, she read:

_Last stop._

_Our first kiss was here_.

Callie checked her phone. Perfect timing. It was 7:50.

Suddenly excited, she drove towards Joe's. As a kid, she'd always gotten her presents after the hunt was over. She wondered what on earth could be waiting for her at Joe's – that is, other than alcohol, the woman she loved, and all her friends, who happened to be there for a different occasion.

But, as she walked inside and looked around the bar, she didn't see any hint of her friends or coworkers. Or any presents.

No one she knew was anywhere in sight. In fact, the bar was completely desolate, and it was already 8:03. Where was everyone?

With a tired sigh, she headed to the bathroom. She may as well make sure her makeup wasn't running or anything while she waited, right?

She swung open the door to the bathroom, immediately catching sight of something written on the mirror. With lipstick, maybe. She edged closer, reading the cursive she recognized as Arizona's.

_I choose you to be the one with whom I spend my life._

_What_? Callie smiled, remembering that she had promised these words to Arizona on their wedding day. Why on earth were they written on the dungy mirror?

Oh, right. _This_ was where they'd shared their first kiss.

Suddenly, the door swung open and Arizona bounced in. "Hi," she chirped after she shut the door behind her and feasted her eyes on Callie.

Callie turned to her, her thumb hitched towards the mirror behind her. "What's this?"

Arizona blushed. "The truth."

Callie felt an oddly nervous tremor flow through her. What was going on?

"I choose you, too," Callie agreed. "But you're really telling me this in a dirty bar bathroom?" she joked.

Arizona shrugged, unmoved. "It was where we met." She was infinitely grateful for this particular bar bathroom, in fact.

"True," Callie relented.

"I, um, wanted to ask you something," Arizona began. She reached for Callie's hands, angling the brunette to face her head-on, standing several feet away.

"Okay…?"

Taking a deep breath in preparation, Arizona began, "Callie, I love you. I love being with you, and raising Sofia with you, and coming home to you every night."

"I do, too," Callie quickly — and confusedly — replied.

"I know," Arizona smiled patiently. "And I'm so happy that we've decided to spend the rest of our lives together. But I want more." Gingerly, she attempted to lower herself down onto her prosthetic knee, nearly toppling over in the process. Luckily, she was able to steady herself with her hands, but her knee still shook with her body weight until her prosthesis finally hit the floor.

"Arizona!" Callie immediately gasped, her hands suddenly hovering around the blonde. "Are you okay?!"

Arizona groaned. She had not anticipated kneeling to be so hard. "I'm fine," she grumbled. Damn it. How the hell was she going to get back up after she popped the question?

"You fell!" Callie exclaimed. "Here, let me –" She brought her hands to Arizona's shoulders, wanting to help her up.

"Callie!" Arizona asserted. "Stop!"

"I'm trying to hel –"

"I'm trying to ask you to freakin' marry me!" Arizona blurted out.

Callie's eyes bulged. "_What_?"

"Well, legally, anyway," she corrected. She took a calming breath. "I didn't fall. I didn't mean to, anyway. I'm trying to propose."

"Wait…" Callie began, a smile teasing her lips.

"What," Arizona huffed. This was not going the way she had intended the night to go. And, now, Callie was laughing at her. Great.

Callie leaned down, her hands cradling Arizona's face and lifting it towards her. She brought her lips to Arizona's, kissing the confused and angry scowl off of her flawless face.

"You're amazing," Callie cooed as she pulled away. "But you can't propose!" she maintained.

Arizona knit her eyebrows together. She had hoped that Callie would have been a little more enthusiastic about their impending engagement. "What do you mean '_I can't'_?" Arizona sassed. God, she was not understanding this. What was Callie talking about?

Callie huffed. "You were supposed to come home right after work. I had this big plan, but you ruined it!"

"I –" Arizona gaped at her, looking like a fish out of water. Finally, she shook her head, asking, "What are you talking about?"

With a sigh at Arizona's persistence, Callie offered her hands out to her once more. "I'll tell you, but at least let me help you up, first."

"Fine," Arizona crabbed, regretfully taking Callie's hands and lifting herself up onto both feet. "Why can't I ask?" she asked vulnerably.

Callie reached out, tucking a lock of blonde hair behind Arizona's ear. She wanted to reassure the shorter woman, even despite her own frustration. "I was going to propose to _you_ tonight," she proclaimed.

"Wait, what?" This time, Arizona was confused.

Callie groaned. "I had this big plan. I was going to propose as soon as you got home."

Arizona's mouth fell open, partially in surprise and partially in amazement. "You were?" she whispered hopefully.

Callie grinned at her. "I was." Then, she swat her arm, "Until you beat me to it!"

Arizona grinned back. "So, if I ask, you're going to say yes?"

Callie didn't think her smile could get any wider, and she fixed Arizona with her most obvious "duh!" expression. "Yeah."

Arizona released a relieved sigh. Somehow, she had been nervous about Callie's answer.

"But, even though you already know my answer, you should ask, anyway" Callie maintained.

Arizona raised her eyebrows. "Seriously? You still want me to ask?"

"_Yes_, Arizona," Callie breathed. "Last time you proposed, I didn't fully appreciate it. I promise you that, this time, I will."

Arizona dimpled, positively shining at her.

"You don't have to get down on one knee," Callie assured her.

Arizona rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. "Oh, thank God," she commented gratefully. Turning serious, she asked, "Now, may I?"

Callie swept the air, inviting the blonde to continue. "By all means." She felt her stomach do somersaults. Was Arizona really about to _propose_? Had they really planned to pop the question on the same day?

"Callie," she began. "I love you. _I love you_. And, for a while, I lost you, and I don't want to ever let that happen again. I want to wake up to you every day and fall asleep to you every night and love you every single second. And I want _more_. I want legal documents that say that you're mine, and that I'm yours. I want to marry you — really, this time," she smiled jokingly, and Callie's own smile widened. Really, she just wanted to show Callie how much she _knew_ her and cared. She wanted to make this special and memorable for the woman she loved.

As Arizona paused, Callie felt an amazing warmth spread through her entire being. This proposal was better than any she ever could have imagined or hoped for.

"Calliope," Arizona shyly continued, "I want everything with you."

Callie's heart took off in her chest. Arizona already knew that Callie agreed — after all, she had been planning to propose on the same night. Still, she assured the blonde, "And I want everything...with you."

Arizona smiled, breathing those final four words, "Will you marry me?"

"Yes," Callie murmured, as soon as the last word left Arizona's mouth. She stepped towards her, closing the distance and wrapping her arms around the blonde's back.

"Yes?" Arizona grinned, bringing her hands up to cradle her _fiancé's_ warm caramel cheeks.

"Yes," Callie assured her. She dropped her hands to grab Arizona's butt, pulling the blonde more tightly against her.

Arizona lifted her face, capturing Callie's lips in her own and filling the brunette with every bit of love and passion she had for her. "Really?"

"Yes," Callie assured her, kissing back lips that felt like home. Then, between each kiss, she enunciated, "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes."

Soon, their kisses became more giddy laughter than actual kissing, their mouths clumsily moving together and their hands lazily running up and down spines.

When they finally pulled away, out of breath and grinning, Arizona admitted, "I didn't get you a ring. But," she held up a simple silver chain with a heart charm hanging from it. "I found this in the bathroom cabinet the other day, and well. It's always represented our love."

Callie's eyes grew wide. She had thought that she'd lost her heart necklace. She'd been terrified that she had.

"And," Arizona nervously continued. "I'd like you to put it back on."

Callie's lips drew up into a sly smile. "If I say yes, are you going to put yours back on?" She stuck her hand into her back pocket.

Arizona flushed pink. "Actually, moving back in..." She wasn't sure how to break the news to Callie that she'd lost the necklace's matching gold mate – maybe in the move, and maybe sometime during their three year separation. "I think I might have to buy another —"

She was stopped short as she saw something shiny and gold dangling from Callie's hand. "Another one of these?" she asked knowingly.

This time, Arizona's eyes widened in wonder. "You...where did you find it?"

"In your dresser drawer," Callie smiled. "Where you left it."

Arizona's heart sped up in her chest.

"I didn't get you a ring, either," Callie clarified. She opened the clasp and held it towards Arizona. "Because you're right; _these_ have always been a symbol of our love."

Arizona felt tears sting her eyes.

"Can I help you put it on?" Callie whispered.

Arizona nodded silently, turning her back towards Callie and lifting up her hair.

Gingerly, Callie placed the necklace against her ivory neck, fastening the clasp.

Arizona turned back towards her.

"Beautiful," Callie breathed, and Arizona knew that she wasn't talking about the necklace.

Arizona blushed. "Can I put _yours_ back on?" she asked breathily.

Callie nodded, eagerly turning away to allow Arizona to return the favor.

Arizona placed the necklace around the taller woman's neck, running her hands down Callie's shoulders and arms after securing the clasp.

Callie turned back to Arizona, hesitantly asking, "What now?"

"Now we go join our friends at the engagement party," Arizona grinned, grabbing Callie's hand and dragging her out the bathroom door.

As soon as everyone in the bar caught sight of the couple – suddenly, people were everywhere – they erupted in applause and cheer.

Callie threw her head back and laughed at seeing all her coworkers' and friends' supportive faces. God, she was on cloud nine.

"The party's here?" she asked Arizona.

The blonde nodded. "Is that okay?"

Callie dipped in, pecking her fiancé's lips. "It's unbelievable. Guess where I was planning to have our engagement party _tomorrow_ night?"

Arizona's eyes widened. "Here?"

Callie grinned. "Uh huh. Are we so well-matched that we have the same thoughts?"

Arizona threw a thankful arm behind the taller woman's back. "I'd say we're perfect for each other."

"Me, too," Callie smiled in disbelief. How had she gotten so lucky?

Before they could get too lost in each other's eyes, April strode up to them. "Congratulations!" she squeezed Arizona, and then Callie. "I'm so happy for you two!"

"I am, too," Arizona grinned. Them, she narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Did you know that Callie was planning to propose tonight?!"

April balked. "Maybe."

Arizona glared at her. "You didn't tell me!"

"Oh, come on!" April defended. "How much cuter is it that it's a surprise?!"

Arizona looked up into Callie's face, and, okay, she _did_ have to admit that being surprised by their undeniable receptiveness to one another was cute. "Fine. It's cuter," she surrendered. "But I don't usually like surprises."

Callie laughed. "Just wait until you see what I have planned. You'll think I'm even cuter than you already do."

"Not possible," Arizona smiled at her, utterly dazzled. She couldn't ignore the unmistakable butterflies in her stomach, though. She couldn't wait to see what Callie had planned.

* * *

"You want a drink?" Arizona asked Callie during one of their few lulls between people congratulating them and just plain fawning over them.

Callie shook her head. "I'll drink later. I want to remember every second of this."

Arizona grinned. Somehow, the night had turned out to be perfect, and it wasn't even over yet. "I am kind of hungry, though. Any chance you have dinner waiting for us at home?"

Callie nodded. "There's a big chance of that. Do you want to go?"

Arizona shrugged. "Would it be rude? I mean, it's a party for us…"

"We're just coming back again tomorrow night," Callie reminded her.

"Right," Arizona remembered, chuckling.

"Let's go," Callie reached for Arizona's hand and began heading for the door.

"Congratulations, you two," Meredith smirked as they attempted to duck out the door.

"Thank you!" Callie and Arizona simultaneously called behind them.

Once outside, Callie decided, "Okay, we need to take two separate cars. And you need to drive slowly."

"What?" Arizona laughed.

"I have to make sure that everything's perfect!" Callie whined. "I wanted to spend all day preparing, but your scavenger hunt took all my time!" Then, she slipped her arms around Arizona, offering more gently, "By the way, I never knew about your conversation with Mark."

Arizona just looked at her, offering an almost sad, close-lipped smile.

"You know: I promised Nick that I'd take care of you, too, so both we're in good hands, huh?" Callie admitted.

Arizona looked pointedly towards the hands cradling her butt. She was in good hands, indeed. _So good_. "I guess so." But, really, she was touched by Callie's words. She'd never known about that conversation, either.

She leaned forward, briefly capturing Callie's lips in her own. "So, I'll see you at home?"

"Yes," Callie agreed, pulling away and walking backwards towards her car. "Drive slow!" she reminded her.

Arizona rolled her eyes in mock-exasperation, but really, she'd never been happier.

She drove home as slowly as she could, trying to imagine what Callie had planned. She knew that it had to be private, given that all their friends were at Joe's and she was thankful for that.

She knew that Callie was going to like the surprise engagement party because surprise parties with friends were in Callie's love language.

And she was grateful that Callie knew that something more personal and subdued was in her own.

Finally reaching her driveway and stalling the car, Arizona took a deep breath. Or attempted to, anyway. The smile fixed to her face made even breathing hard.

Finally, she walked towards the door, reluctantly knocking on the door.

After a minute, Callie opened it, only peeking out and not letting Arizona get a look at what was awaiting her inside. "You ready?"

Arizona chuckled. "I've been ready. Are _you_?"

Callie bit her lip, suddenly nervous, but she nodded. She opened the door more widely, leading Arizona to the wide kitchen/dining room/living room area.

"Wow," Arizona eyes bulged.

Callie smiled, carefully watching the blonde's reaction.

Which was mostly confusion, for the time being. Because, all around her, everywhere she looked, covering nearly every hard surface, Arizona saw…

Post-its.

Big yellow post-its.

What?

The reason for this was that, early on in their relationship, Callie had learned of Arizona's strange affinity for post-its. Being such a perfectionistic, type-A personality, she would use them to bookmark journals, magazines, and books. She would use them to write herself reminders. She would use them to write _Callie_ reminders.

Not to mention flirtatious notes or downright _x-rated_ ones, on occasion.

But, now, likely every post-it she'd owned, along with what looked like hundreds of others were all around the room, and Arizona caught sight of pithy pieces of writing on each of them.

"Callie…?" she began questioningly. What _was_ this?

Callie smiled knowingly. "A whole lot of post-its, huh?" she husked.

Arizona nodded, and Callie reached around her, wrapping her arms around the shorter woman's middle and resting her chin on her shoulder.

"Remember when you started naming the things you loved about me when we were in therapy?" she asked.

Arizona nodded. She remembered that it hadn't ended so well.

"Well," Callie began, "I never got a chance to say why I love you."

Arizona raised her eyebrows. "So, this –"

"This is a list," Callie finished. "Of every time I've fallen in love with you. Or _more_ in love with you." She smiled, leaning towards Arizona's ear and murmuring, "Which happens a lot."

"No kidding," Arizona muttered under her breath, because _wow_. It was such a sight, seeing so many post-its, all around her. They covered everything.

She walked out of Callie's embrace, heading towards the kitchen counter and running her eyes over the words.

_When you came home from Africa and showed up at my doorstep at midnight._

_When you said I could talk to you about the woman I was seeing, even though I know it killed you._

_When you said, "I like the girl who has the sandwiches" before Izzy and Alex's wedding. God, I realized that I loved you in that moment._

_When you were there for me when my dad disowned me, even though it was so early in our relationship._

_When I learned that talking to authority figures makes you cry._

_When you smile. Every single time._

_When I first saw how sweet you were with Sofia, and every moment since._

_When you f—_

Callie came up behind her, reading over her shoulder. "When you first said you loved me," she finished.

Arizona turned back to face her, her eyes positively sparkling as she met Callie's equally shiny orbs.

Callie smiled shyly. "Honestly, though, I don't have words for how much I'm in love with you. I just know that I am, and I'm more and more grateful for you with each passing day."

Arizona inhaled a shaky breath, accusing Callie. "You're going to make me cry!"

Callie leaned in, kissing her cheek. "Don't. Let's eat. I'm starving."

Arizona nodded profusely, suddenly remembering her ravenous appetite. "What'd you make me?" she joked.

"Everything," Callie replied seriously. Pursing her lips, she asked, "Do you remember that fight we had about kids?"

Arizona's shoulders slumped. "Which one?"

Callie reached out, squeezing her hand. "The one when you said that 'Spain melts you.'"

Arizona nodded. "A little."

Callie smiled. "We were lucky enough to have Sofia, but we haven't been to Spain, yet. So," she gestured to the small, romantically made table. "I figured that paella and sangria would be a good sneak preview."

Arizona sat down, only then noticing the vanilla-scented candles and rose petals peppering the table. And the gorgeous, expertly-made pitcher of white sangria in the middle of the table.

Sitting down, Callie lifted the lid of the paella pan, allowing the scent of chorizo, shrimp, onion, and spices to flood their senses.

"Mmm, Callie," Arizona moaned. "How did you have time to do all this today?!"

Callie made a face. She'd barely had time. "I hurried."

As Callie served them, Arizona eyed her suspiciously, asking, "What did you mean 'a good sneak preview'?"

At that, the brunette grinned. She reached into her pocket, handing Arizona a white envelope.

"What's this?" Arizona asked, feeling her heart pounding in her ears.

"Open it," Callie insisted.

Painfully slowly, Arizona broke open the seal and peeked at what was inside. Her eyes bulging, she looked up at Callie sitting across from her. "Three tickets to _Spain_?" she questioned, amazed.

Callie nodded fiercely. "Yes!" she exclaimed excitedly. "We need a honeymoon, don't we?"

Arizona laughed. God, Callie knew her. She _knew_ her. "I love you," she just about sang.

Callie just giggled. She was giddy with happiness. Positively. Giddy. "I know," she sing-songed. "That's kind of why we're here." She took a sip of sangria and closed her eyes. If there was a heaven, she imagined that it must feel like she did that day.

Starving, she and Arizona finally dug into dinner, easily satiated with Callie's rich, mouthwatering paella. They easily fell into familiar conversation.

"There's just one thing missing about tonight," Arizona confessed after a few minutes of blissful chatter.

Callie set down her fork. "What?"

Arizona smiled. "Sofia."

"We'll celebrate with her tomorrow," Callie assured her. "She won't be totally left out." She reached into her pocket, pulling out a shorter necklace that looked like their own mates. It, however, was made up of a gold heart on a silver chain: a piece of each of them. "I was thinking that we could give her this." She shrugged, a little embarrassed. "So she'll feel included," she explained.

Arizona beamed at her. "_Yes_," she gushed. "That's perfect." She loved the thought of their daughter wearing a physical reminder not only of her moms' love for each other, but also one of their love for Sofia herself.

* * *

As they cleared the table, doing the dishes together and being careful not to get any of the unread post-its wet, Arizona asked, "So, what's next on the itinerary, fiancé of mine?"

Callie grinned, turning to face her. "I was thinking…I could love you a little," she whispered, feeling her heart speed up as Arizona's hands reverently ran up her arms.

"I thought we loved each other all the time," Arizona teased.

"We do," Callie assured her, her hands running up the blonde's sides, reveling in feeling the blonde shiver against her touch. "But let me show you."

"You do. You did tonight," Arizona continued cheekily, wanting Callie to be open and frank about what she was suggesting. And, well, teasing her was fun.

Callie rolled her eyes in mock-vexation. "Fine," she surrendered. "I want to _make_ love to you."

Arizona's breath hitched, the shock of expected but glorious, glorious words. Though making love is what they did, it was rare for either of them to use the expression. She realized, though, how true it was. They _made_ love. There was no other way to describe it.

"I want to make love to you," Callie repeated. "And _with_ you," she continued, exploring her fiancé's wide, darkening eyes. "I don't care that you already know. I want to show you how much I love you, tonight. All night. Forever."

Unable to help herself, she pushed her body up against Callie's and passionately brought their lips together, sliding her tongue into the brunette's mouth and then biting her lip as she pulled away, giving her a taste of what the next few hours would contain. "I love you," she breathed as she pulled away, smiling naughtily.

Callie grinned, her hands running all over Arizona's body, claiming it as hers. "I love you, too."

Arizona grinned back. "Yeah? Prove it."

* * *

**Welp, let me know what you all think! I love hearing your feedback!**


	86. Chapter 86

**Just a quick happy thing. AU written after 12x03 but takes place way later. Calzona are TOGETHER.**

* * *

"Mmm," Callie hummed contently as Arizona's arms tightened around her.

The blonde pulled away slightly, curiously meeting the taller woman's big brown eyes. "What?" she questioned.

"Nothing," Callie breathed, thumbs stroking the inch of ivory skin peeking out from beneath the blonde's top. "I just missed you."

Arizona felt a wide smile spread across her face. God, this was everything she had ever wanted. This was everything.

It was indescribable. The feeling of finally knowing what she wanted and having it. The feeling of finally being all in – really, this time.

For life.

And the feeling of knowing that Callie felt the same. That – no matter what – they were determined to be together. They were determined to maintain the love for one another.

It wasn't that they were destined for one another. That wasn't it. Not necessarily. That was far too simple.

They _chose_ one another. And they were willing to put in the work – perhaps a lot of work – to ensure that their love and happiness remained strong, throughout the rest of their lives.

"Yeah?" Arizona asked hopefully.

Callie nodded. "So much. I mean, not the whole time. But yeah. A lot. I just…I'm remembering now. Here. How much nothing else can compare to you and me."

Arizona felt her smile grow impossibly wider, and she brought Callie impossibly closer. "I know," she agreed, feeling grateful tears prick her eyes. She brought her hand to the brunette's cheek, reverently caressing it with the soft pads of her fingers. "I always knew that, though," she added shyly.

Callie raised her eyebrows, a slow smile lighting up her face. "You did?" she asked, both in surprise and disbelief.

Arizona nodded genuinely. "Calliope, you're _it_ for me. I meant it when we got married, and I mean it even more now. You're the only person I want to share everything with. All of it. Always." She tucked a loose piece of black hair behind Callie's ear, surprised that she didn't feel at all vulnerable about her confession.

It was true, after all. And they'd spent long enough hiding their feeling from the other.

Callie felt a welcome warmth spread through her, from her head to her toes. And she couldn't help but dip her head, wrapping her lips around Arizona's. She wanted to show the blonde how thankful she was, how happy she was, how on board she was with all of it. She wanted to show her how much she loved her.

Finally, Arizona regretfully pulled away, needing air. This was heaven. It had to be.

"Arizona," Callie whispered, their foreheads resting together.

"Hmm?"

"I know you used to worry that I just…fell in love with everyone," she began. "But it's never, ever been the way it is with you. I've never loved anyone else the way I love you. I hope you know that."

Arizona's lips turned up, and she quickly leaned in, brushing their lips. "I do," she affirmed.

And she did. Callie had made sacrifices for her, again and again. Now, she knew how much the brunette loved her. How much she had always loved her.

And Callie, in turn, knew how deeply Arizona's love for her flowed. After everything, after all the _actions_ the blonde had taken on – and for – her behalf, Callie would have had to have been blind not to know.

Before she could say anything else, Arizona once again burrowed herself into the taller woman, pulling Callie in so closely that they were practically one.

In response, Callie wrapped her arms around her. She vowed to never let go.

As the taller woman's arms tightened around her back, Arizona sighed serenely. Finally at peace. "I missed you, too."

* * *

**Happy Saturday, everyone!**


	87. Chapter 87

**Written after 12x03. AU sometime within the next five episodes.**

* * *

"Yo, Callie," Alex greeted, walking over to his friend.

"Hmm?" Callie looked up, unable to help but smirk at the man's uneasy, hesitant expression.

He cleared his throat. He didn't want to…overstep. He didn't want to stick his nose where it didn't belong, but well, there he was, anyway. "I have a question."

Callie turned to him completely, crossing her arms suspiciously. "Spit it out, Karev. What's going on?"

"It's not a big deal," he assured her half-heartedly. "I was just wondering."

"Continue," she commanded.

"Just…" he paused. "When did you know that you stopped loving Arizona?"

Callie's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Out of everything she'd been expecting Alex to ask, that had to have been the very last thing on her list. "What?"

"Just answer!" he insisted bullishly. He huffed. "I'm just wondering."

Callie sighed. "I didn't stop. She stopped loving me."

Alex's eyes widened in surprise.

"_Why_?" Callie asked.

"It's nothing," Alex shakily assured her, turning to walk away. This was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. And he didn't want to get any more _in it _than he already was.

"Wait!" Callie barked, pulling his arm back so that he'd face her. She wasn't sure why she wanted to know so badly, but she knew that she did. "Why?" she asked again.

"I can't tell you!" Alex admitted. "Just…" he rolled his eyes.

"Karev," Callie grit her teeth. "Tell me."

"Do you _still_ love her?" he asked. "Or did you stop after the divorce?"

"I'm dating –"

"I know," he conceded. "But if you weren't. If you and Robbins figured your crap out, or whatever," he waved his hand. "Would you?"

Callie shook her head in defeat. She wasn't understanding. What was Alex going off about? "She doesn't –"

"If you knew she loved you and wanted a life with you," Alex added.

Callie's eyebrows furrowed. That hypothetical was so, so, _so_ far from reality that she didn't even know how to answer. "I don't know," she croaked. "I mean, of course I still love her. I always will. But…we weren't working."

Alex continued to stare at her.

"So it doesn't matter," she rambled. "We've both moved on, and…"

Alex gulped, looking down at his toes. If only Callie knew what had taken place several hours before. If only she knew that Arizona had completely broken down, begging him for advice about how to move on, herself.

It was all such a damn misunderstanding, and now it was too late. Poor Arizona. Still loving Callie with all her heart, but thinking Callie had stopped long ago.

Callie had paused for a moment, and when she noticed Alex's curious eyes on her, she shook her head – clearing it. "We've both moved on," she repeated definitively.

"Right. Whatever," Alex responded. He needed some space. He needed to…not be in the middle of this.

Callie eyed him watchfully. "I know you want to say something," she maintained. "So just say it."

"I should –"

"Alex!"

"Fine!" he defended. "But don't get mad, or think I'm trying to start something. I'm just telling you so you know."

"_What_ are you telling me?" Callie asked, her voice suddenly a whisper.

"_She_ hasn't moved on, okay?" Alex admitted. "She thought you walked away because you were done, and _she_ still wants you."

Callie's eyes bulged, because _what_? That was insane. It was…wrong, she was sure. Arizona had never, ever expressed that. And it had been three years. "No…" she began to argue.

"Dude, she _told_ me," Alex insisted. "And I'm just…telling you so that you know." In truth, he was happy that Callie, his friend, was happy – no matter who she was with.

He just wished that Arizona could be happy, too.

"Where is she?" Callie demanded.

He shrugged. "Last time I saw her, in an on-call room freaking out. She might be in surgery now, though."

Callie nodded absentmindedly. She felt strange. Really, really crazy strange. Like she wasn't a person, like this wasn't even her life, like she was floating above the world she used to know.

Because if Alex was telling the truth, then the world – _her_ world – had just shifted. Monumentally.

Right?

Because the reason that she'd walked out of therapy, the reason that she'd walked out of their marriage had been because hadn't really loved her anymore. She hadn't been able to forgive Callie for things outside of her control – Africa, Sofia, the leg – and, because of it, they had no longer been able to grow together.

Arizona had _needed_ her, had resented her, and that wasn't what love was made of. Who they were to each other before…had faded away.

And Callie couldn't try to fix Arizona, and their relationship, and their pain anymore on their own.

So she had left. For Arizona. And herself.

And she had moved on.

And so had Arizona. Right?

She headed towards the Attendings' Lounge. She needed some privacy, some space, until she figured out what the hell she was going to do with this newfound information.

She paced, back and forth, back and forth, for what felt like a lifetime. Finally, she decided that she needed to talk to her ex-wife. She needed to know if what Alex had said was true.

She didn't know why – she had a girlfriend, after all – but she did.

Ripping her pager from her pocket, she paged Arizona to the lounge. She sat down, knees bouncing.

God, what did she have to be nervous about? What was wrong with her?

* * *

As Arizona looked down at her pager, she felt the blood drain from her face. Why on earth was Callie, of all people, paging her? And to the Attendings' Lounge, no less?

That meant that Callie needed something or wanted to talk – socially, not professionally.

Terrified but determined, Arizona hurried to the Lounge. What if her ex-wife needed something? What if something was wrong?!

As she hesitantly opened the door, she caught sight of Callie's alarmed face as she stood up.

"Hey," Arizona greeted, walking towards her and surveying the room, satisfied that it was empty.

"Hey," Callie breathed.

Arizona eyed her nervously. "Is everything okay?"

"I don't know," Callie answered honestly.

Arizona knit her eyebrows together. "What happened?" she asked, suddenly concerned. What was wrong?

Callie gulped. Then, she began, "I'm…" She sighed. "Do you…still love me?"

Arizona's eyes widened, because where on earth had _that_ come from?

"You can tell me," Callie continued.

Arizona shook her head. "You're seeing –"

"I know," Callie smiled softly. "But I still want to know."

Arizona stared at her ex-wife, weighing her authenticity. Finally, she proclaimed, "I do." She said it with more force than she'd expected.

Callie didn't answer. She just stood stock-still, her face set in stone.

"I still love you," Arizona repeated. "And miss you. And want a life with you."

Callie inhaled a sharp breath. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. W h a t? "No," she exhaled. It just couldn't be.

Arizona intensely met Callie's eyes, almost pleading with her. To listen. To trust her. "I know you're…" her eyes rolled up to the ceiling. "Happier than you've _ever_ been. And I know that I told you to give her another shot, because I saw how happy she made you..."

Callie waited for the "but" that was inevitably coming. She didn't know if she ached for it or dreaded it.

"But," Arizona continued. There it was. "I wish it was me. Making you happy." She swallowed, pursing her lips. "I wish it was you and me."

Callie shook her head. "You…" she paused. "I thought…In therapy, you stopped wanting to be with me. I mean, you said you _needed_ me, but that's different from wanting a life with me. You didn't want a life with me anymore."

Arizona's eyebrows flew up. God, Callie couldn't be more wrong. Or, well, maybe…she had wanted to end things. For a second. Because their love had gotten so impossibly hard. But now? It was the farthest thing from the truth. "Calliope," she breathed.

Callie searched Arizona's face. "I just…you never said anything…"

"I couldn't!" Arizona exclaimed. "You –"

"I never stopped loving you," Callie finished, thinking back to her conversation with Alex. "I didn't walk out because I didn't want to be with you. I walked out because we just kept repeating the same toxic patterns. And you didn't seem to want me, anymore."

Arizona's heart sped up in her chest. "You…" she attempted again.

"_Never_ stopped loving you, Arizona," Callie repeated impassionedly. "Not loving you was never the problem. _Loving you_ was."

Arizona attempted to breathe out the overwhelming stress and surprise that threatened to consume her. She still wasn't sure that it wouldn't.

"I'm sorry," she lamented softly. She hated how much pain she had caused the woman she loved.

Callie shrugged. It was in the past. It didn't hurt her as much as it once did.

"But I'm not…resentful, anymore," Arizona continued. "I don't blame you. For anything," she added sincerely. "I only love you."

Callie could feel her hands shaking at her sides. Her entire body was vibrating, ready to take off into outer space, she was sure.

Arizona sighed, attempting to gather her thoughts. "And…I know that I said that you're the only thing I'd ever need, but I know now that that's not true. Callie, you're the only person who I _want_. You're the only person who I'd do anything for. You're the only person who I'll be in love with. Forever." She paused, and she could have sworn that she saw Callie shiver. It may have just been a mind trick, though. Wishful thinking.

As Arizona said the first real, open, and honest words to Callie in – what? three years? – Callie felt a shiver run through her.

"And I'm not saying 'I love you' to hear it back," Arizona continued. "I'm just…I'm saying it so that you know. _I do love you_. I've always loved you. I'll always love you. And – I know that you're with her, I know that you care about her – I know that. And if choosing her makes you happy, then I'm happy for you."

Callie exhaled a shuddering breath. Her girlfriend _did_ make her happy, but man. She in no way compared to Arizona.

"But know that _you_ make me happy," Arizona promised. "And I want to do the same for you."

Callie felt her heart beat impossibly faster, and she had to fight every fiber in her being to resist wrapping her arms around Arizona right then and there.

"Just…I love you. And I won't stop. So know that, even if you don't choose me, I will _always_ choose you."

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Any feedback is much appreciated!**


	88. Chapter 88

**Written after 12x03. Takes place at Mer's dinner party.**

**HUGE AU. This would never happen. It's just funny and brought me some entertainment on this lovely Wednesday evening.**

**I got this prompt and rolled with it: omg can you please write a one shot of them playing never have i ever with everyone while they're broken up?**

* * *

After Penny's identity was revealed, Amelia hurried away to hang out with the kids, instead, and everyone felt a veil of extreme awkwardness settle over them.

"Um," Alex began. "Never have I ever…gotten caught screwing in the shower."

"What?" Callie barked.

Maggie laughed. "Are you serious right now? We're playing 'I never'?"

Alex shrugged, unconcerned. "Yeah." He poured more wine into each guest's glass. "So, drink up if you've gotten caught."

Smirking, Jackson took a generous gulp, and Callie and Arizona eyed each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.

Regretfully, Arizona took a small sip, with Callie following suit. Penny looked down. It was only expected, right? They'd been married, after all.

"What?" Alex cackled, looking at Jackson. "You and Kepner?"

"No!" Jackson quickly defended. He threw a careful look Meredith's way before admitting, "Me and Lexie."

Arizona laughed tipsily. "She walked in on us!"

Callie stiffened. It had been funny at the time, but god, remembering hurt. They'd been so happy once.

"Who walked in on you two?" Meredith asked Jackson, ignoring Arizona. The dinner was already awkward enough with her and Callie's new _incompetent doctor_ girlfriend there.

Jackson gulped. "April, actually."

Alex nudged Jo beside him. "Your turn. Go."

This was the strangest get-together she'd ever encountered, and with her superiors no less. "Never have I ever…" she began hesitantly. It was always so hard to think of things. "Thought the person I love was dead?"

"Dude!" Stephanie chastised. "Dark!"

"Sorry!" Jo defended. "I couldn't think of anything!" She looked around, watching the faces of her coworkers.

Shaking his head, Alex took a big gulp. Izzie had died in his arms once upon a time, after all.

Beside him, Meredith grabbed the bottle of tequila in the center of the table and took a swig. This…hit particularly close to home. "A few times, actually," she said. "Then he really did die."

Everyone watched her in shock, eyes widening.

"What?" she asked. She held the bottle out towards Arizona. "You want?"

Intentionally looking anywhere but towards Callie, sitting several seats away from her, Arizona reached out towards the bottle, waterfalling a few ounces of the alcohol that tasted like lighter fluid.

She offered the bottle to Owen, and he chose to instead take a generous gulp of wine. He slid the bottle across the table towards Callie, though. "I know you need this, too." He offered something between a smile and a cringe, and the brunette took the bottle in both hands.

Swallowing hard, she chanced one last look towards her ex-wife before taking a swig. Poor Penny. She was pretty excluded from all this. Maybe that was for the best.

"Meredith, you go," Jo invited.

"Never have I ever…" Meredith looked at her friends' faces and smiled wickedly. "Been divorced."

"No fair," Alex mumbled under his breath as he, Owen, Arizona, and Callie regretfully sipped their wine.

"Never have I ever slept with an intern," Stephanie proudly proclaimed.

Everyone groaned. This time, Callie, Meredith, Alex, Arizona, and – surprisingly – Maggie took a swig.

Everyone but Meredith looked at the cardiac surgeon in question.

"At another hospital," she quickly fibbed. She did not want this to come out. Not tonight.

A few minutes later, they heard footsteps stomping down the stairs, and Amelia moved to sit down in the chair beside Meredith. "What are we doing?" she asked eagerly.

"Playing 'I never,'" Maggie explained. "You wanna go?"

"Yeah!" Amelia exclaimed, having recovered – at least somewhat – from seeing Derek's doctor. "I've never had a sibling die all of a sudden."

Penny's breath hitched, and Callie grabbed her hand under the table. Arizona felt like gagging.

Everyone looked at the younger Shepherd in concern. "Amelia," Maggie gently breathed. "That _did_ happen to you."

Amelia knit her eyebrows together. "Oh. It's supposed to be something that's _never_ happened?"

Slowly, everyone nodded.

Amelia shrugged, unconcerned. "Whatever. I'm going to drink to it, anyway." And with that, she took a big gulp from her juice box's straw.

No one knew whether to laugh or comfort her. It was also just so funny, seeing this High and Mighty doctor drinking from a juice box.

Amelia eyed her friends. "Am I the only one this has happened to?"

"Nope," Meredith admitted, taking back the tequila and downing some once again.

"Yay," Arizona said, sipping on her own red wine.

"My dad died all of a sudden," Alex admitted.

"Mine, too!" Amelia emphathized.

"My dad disowned me once," Callie added.

"Mine once slapped me," Meredith added.

"Mine married Jackson's mom," Maggie admitted.

"My mom doesn't want me to get a divorce!" Jackson suddenly exclaimed.

All talk came to a halt. "What?" Callie inquired.

He huffed. Thank god April was on-call. "She was the one against April and I getting married. But, now, she's trying to talk me out of ending things! She's taking April's side! How stupid is that?"

"Stupid," Arizona sympathized. Even though April was her friend, she felt sorry for Jackson. April…left him. Not only physically, but emotionally. It was so unfair.

Callie chuckled. "My dad did that, too."

Arizona's head shot up, but Callie purposefully avoided her eyes. She shrugged helplessly. "Marriage is hard."

"Sing it!" Meredith added drunkenly, clinking the tequila bottle against Alex's wine glass.

He rolled his eyes.

"So," Callie prompted curiously. "Are you going to end things?" She hoped the answer was no. She just…she felt sorry for April. She could sympathize with her friend leaving to deal with things. It was what she needed, to cope with her pain.

"I don't know," he shook his head. "I don't know!"

"Never have I ever…had a wife who left me to go away to war," Amelia changed the subject.

Everyone glared at her.

"What?" she defended. "Didn't I do it right this time?"

"You need to learn to filter," Arizona whisper-chastised.

Amelia groaned. "Not this again."

"Mine did," Jackson sighed. He downed the rest of his wine. "Someone else do one. A happier one, please."

Everyone was silent, attempting to think of something more positive.

"Never have I ever woken anyone up with loud sex!" Maggie exclaimed suddenly.

"Yes, you have," Amelia muttered under her breath, so quietly that no one was sure she'd even spoken at all.

"Me," Meredith raised her hand.

Callie generously met Arizona's eyes. "We have."

Arizona smirked, grateful that her had ex-wife finally surrendered a look in her direction. "A lot," she added slyly. She felt oddly satisfied by Callie's girlfriend's discomfort, even though she knew that was ridiculously immature. She couldn't help it.

"Oh, I know!" Amelia exclaimed. "Never have I ever been a jealous person." She looked at the doubtful faces watching her. "What?" she defended. "I'm not."

"Well, I am," Stephanie admitted, bringing her wine glass to her lips.

Jo hesitantly followed suit, and Arizona lifted up her glass – hesitant to drink.

Callie offered her a kind smile, then encouraged, "Drink up."

Arizona immediately lifted the glass up to her mouth, hoping it would shelter her blush. So, _fine_. She was a jealous person. Did the whole world have to know it?

At that, Penny took a generous sip from her own wine glass because, hello. She was jealous. How could she compete with her girlfriend's and Arizona's history?

"I've never had sex with a girl," Jo offered.

With helpless shrugs, Alex, Owen, Jackson, Callie, Arizona, Penny, and – surprisingly but somehow _not_ – Amelia lifted their drinks to their lips – Amelia still sipping through the juice box's narrow straw.

"You want to?" Alex joked with his girlfriend. "Robbins hasn't gotten laid in a while."

"ALEX!" Arizona and Jo simultaneously chastised him.

"Sorry!" he apologized, in a way that made it clear that he wasn't at all sorry. "Just offering."

Callie curiously looked between Alex and her ex-wife. What did he mean Arizona 'hadn't gotten laid in a while'? How long was 'a while'?

"I've never been blonde," Callie offered weakly when it was her turn.

Arizona furrowed her brows at her ex-wife. "Seriously, Calliope?"

Callie shrugged. "I couldn't think of anything."

Meredith and Arizona clinked glasses. "Cheers."

"Oh!" Arizona began. "This one's G-rated. I've never been proposed to."

Amelia, Meredith, and Callie each took sips of their drinks.

"I've never been left at the altar!" Meredith shouted, obviously drunk by that point.

Everyone looked at each other. "Mer, Cristina isn't here," Callie informed her. "We're all good," she chuckled.

"I've never given a TED talk," Arizona offered, smiling naughtily at her ex-wife.

"Rude," Callie humphed. "Fine. I've never…been a pediatric surgeon," she retaliated, self-satisfied. So there.

Arizona and Alex each took a sip.

Next, Jackson peeped, "I've never done anything so bad or harmful that I felt like I couldn't recognize myself the next morning."

Alex took a sip first.

"Everyone has to admit what it was," Jackson tacked on.

"Fine," Alex eyed Meredith shyly. "I outed Mer. With the whole Alzheimer's trial thing."

"What Alzheimer's trial thing?" Maggie asked curiously.

Meredith waved her off as she took a sip herself. "I slept with George when Derek and I broke up. It was gross."

Callie laughed. "Hey, he wasn't bad in bed!"

Alex shuddered. Arizona wanted to. Ew.

"How many times did you and my brother break up?" Amelia interjected curiously.

Meredith shrugged.

"A lot," Callie answered for her.

Penny felt her knees bouncing under the table. She had, in fact, done something so bad and harmful that she couldn't recognize herself the next morning. She hadn't even felt like a doctor, because a man – Amelia's brother and Meredith's husband – had died, partially because of her.

But was it a good idea to say that? Probably not. She preferred to stay quiet.

"Who else?" Alex asked.

Owen took a generous sip. "I, uh, cheated on Cristina. Once."

That was a surprise to most of them, but Meredith already knew that fact well, and Callie'd had her suspicions.

"I, um," Arizona looked down nervously. "Cheated on my wife." Gulp, gulp, gulp.

To her surprise, Callie was the next to take a long sip.

Arizona looked at her curiously, eyebrows furrowed. And, after a long, seemingly endless moment, Callie met her eyes. "Broke my promise."

Before Arizona even realized it, she was frantically shaking her head. "That wasn't your fault," she insisted.

Callie's eyebrows raised, her eyes softening more than they already had prior to her nervous confession. Impossible.

Arizona gave her a soft smile, then nervously bit down on her bottom lip. "It was selfless," she whispered. "It was good."

Which was true. Callie was just so _good_. There was no other way to describe what she was.

A silent – almost pleasant – moment passed between them. A minute of mutual respect, apologies, and understanding.

Amelia loudly slurped the remnants of her juice box, and everyone immediately tore their eyes from Callie and Arizona's exchange and instead turned to her.

"This one day when I was living in LA," Amelia explained, "I said a lot of things I regret." She thought back to that day of her intervention, when she'd been an absolute monster to everyone who loved her.

In truth, what she regretted more than anything was getting high with Ryan that one last time. It had cost her the man she loved. But that was a story for another time.

Arizona nodded empathetically. Saying things she regretted. That was something she knew well.

"I've never been in love," Stephanie admitted.

"WHAT?" What felt like hundreds of pairs of eyes immediately bulged at her.

"Not really," Stephanie defended. "I just…have never really found someone I was that interested in."

"Thanks," Jackson pouted, his ego a little bruised.

"Hey," she put up her hands. "I thought I was. But, in retrospect, I refuse to believe that I was in love with a guy who was in love with someone else."

Jackson didn't really have an answer to that, so instead, he just took a swig of Meredith's tequila. He had been _so_ in love with April. That was the problem.

Everyone else took a drink, too. Including Penny, Arizona noticed. God.

"Say the name of the person you were last in love with," Meredith insisted. She was prepared to be immensely entertained, given her incestual company.

Amelia and Owen locked eyes from across the table, and with the tiniest shake of Amelia's head, Owen knew he couldn't say it. They weren't…there yet.

"Cristina," he stated. In truth, he was in love with Amelia, though. She was all he could think about.

"James," Amelia added, also hoping to throw off her coworkers' suspicions.

Meredith and Maggie knowingly rolled their eyes.

Maggie admitted, "I can't even remember the last time I was in love."

"Aw. Sad," Meredith drunkenly patted her half-sister's hair, and Callie couldn't help the laugh that escaped her throat. Even despite her own…what? Stress? Anticipation? Dread?

Because, what was she going to say? She….really, really, _really_ liked Penny. But was she in love with her? And – if she was – wasn't it still too soon to admit it?

As far as she knew, Arizona was the last person she'd been in love with. But, she couldn't just say that.

Definitely not.

Especially because Arizona had stopped being in love with her so long ago.

"Derek," Meredith admitted, voice high with tequila and hand still petting Maggie's puffy hair.

Jo leaned her head against Alex's shoulder. "Do we really have to say it?"

Stephanie groaned. "Please don't. We get the picture."

Arizona laughed.

"April," Jackson admitted harshly. Damn it, April.

Which left Callie, Arizona, and Penny. Oh boy.

Arizona pursed her lips, turning to Meredith. "Do I really have to say it?" she whispered.

Meredith nodded, smiling wickedly.

With an exasperated huff, Arizona turned away, meeting Callie's apprehensive, rich chocolate brown eyes.

Callie felt her heart speed up as her ex-wife's intense eyes explored her own.

With one last nervous sigh, Arizona breathed, "You."

She gulped, waiting for Callie's surely irritated response.

That wasn't what she got, though. Callie's eyes widened in surprise – why would she be surprised? – and everyone at the table saw the column of her throat jump as she gulped.

Callie nodded softly in resignation, looking down at the table for what felt like a lifetime. Finally, she brought her gaze up to Arizona's face, her eyes piercing Arizona's as she softly admitted, "Yeah. You."

* * *

***pterodactyl screech* REEEEEEEEEVIIIIIIIIEWWWWWWWW MEEEEEEEEE**


	89. Chapter 89

**Takes place at the girl bar we're expecting to make an appearance in 12x07. Waaaaaaaaay AU, written after 12x04.**

* * *

"April," Arizona warned. "What are we doing at a _girl bar_?"

"_You_ need to put yourself out there," April easily countered.

Arizona leveled a glare at her.

"Just try, okay?" April defended. "It's been two years. Try to put yourself out there. Drink, flirt, dance a little! I can be your wing girl, or I can just take you home if no one else does first."

Arizona groaned. "I don't want to —"

"I know," April huffed. "But just try, okay? For me? Things with Jackson and I are _miserable_. Let's just have fun and try to be happy for the night."

Arizona offered her best friend a sympathetic smile and a resigned sigh. "Fine," she murmured. "I'll _try_."

"Yay!" April cheered, and they quickly headed to the bar, April ordering a Coke and Arizona, a glass of white wine. As she sipped and watched the crowd dancing around her, she tried to channel her old self again. The woman who had _loved_ girl bars, and flirting, and dancing, and taking women home after only a few minutes of flirty conversation.

Now, that aspect of her felt so far off, though. It simply didn't interest her. Not after knowing the feeling of real, true love. Not after knowing Callie.

After a minute, she scowled and regretfully turned to April. "I can't even really dance, anymore," she claimed, knowing it was a weak excuse.

April rolled her eyes. After her painful conversation with Jackson earlier that day, she had no patience for coddling her friend. "Arizona..."

"Fine!" Arizona surrendered. She was not in the mood for a "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!" speech.

"You're going to put yourself out there, and it's going to be totally -"

April stopped short, her eyes stopping on someone's form during her quick perusal of the grand bar scene.

"Totally...?" Arizona questioned. But, when April didn't answer and only narrowed her eyes as she looked straight ahead, Arizona followed her gaze.

And what she saw was thick, luscious black hair. And, in that moment, it was like the entire rest of the world ceased to exist for Arizona. That hair was all she saw. All she smelled was Callie's old perfume, even knowing that was only in her head. All she tasted was the Chardonnay, coming back up.

All she heard was...

That laugh.

God, it was Callie.

And all Arizona ached to do was touch her.

"Oh man," April squeaked, also having recognized the melodious laugh of the woman facing away from them. "Arizona..." she began apologetically.

Arizona shook her head, forcing herself to tear her eyes away from her ex-wife. "It's fine." But, really, there was nothing fine about Callie being there — a place Arizona had introduced her to, a place they had often gone to _together_ — surrounded by a gaggle of adoring women. It was unbearable.

"Why don't we dance?" April offered. "Or..." she looked around, spotting a busty brunette in a leather vest. "She's pretty! Should we go introduce ourselves?"

Arizona could only muster up a small shake of her head. "Maybe in a bit," she smiled softy.

April sighed. So much for a fun night for her friend. She couldn't believe it. What was Callie _doing_ there? "Fine," she breathed. "At least talk to me, then."

"_You_ talk to _me_," Arizona countered. "How are things with Jackson? Still awful?"

"Worse," April frowned. "I'm trying to fight for him — for us — but it's so hard when I'm alone. When...it's just me, giving 100% and him giving me nothing in return."

Arizona nodded. Biting her lip, she offered, "I think Callie might have felt like that."

April raised her eyebrows, silently urging the blonde to continue.

"After the plane crash," Arizona clarified. She looked down, adding, "After the cheating."

"It's exhausting," April huffed. "Thinking the person you love doesn't care as much as you do. That's probably why she left."

Arizona furrowed her eyebrows. She'd never thought of it that way. In her mind, Callie had left because she'd been done. Because she'd felt smothered.

But April's interpretation was much, much different.

"Oh!" April yelped. "She's coming over here."

Arizona's eyes widened in fear and surprise before she realized that she and April were sitting at the bar stools by the bar's counter. Of course Callie was coming this way. She was getting another drink.

"It'll be fine," April assured her. "Just smile."

Arizona plastered a smile onto her face, suddenly pulling April into a _riveting_ conversation to avoid staring at her unsuspecting ex-wife.

As Callie walked up to the bar, though, she caught sight of them. "Arizona? April?" she asked, self-consciously running her hand through her hair. "What are you doing here?" As if she didn't know.

"Just having a little girl's night," April answered for her speechless friend. Could Arizona seriously be any more obvious? She always looked at Callie with such reverent wonder, and that night was no exception.

"Oh," Callie nodded, her eyes finally tearing away from her extended appraisal of her ex-wife. "Cool."

"What about you?" Arizona asked, trying to maintain her aura of maturity.

"Oh!" Callie began. "Yeah. Just...wanted a night out."

Arizona and April just smiled and silently nodded at her — perhaps for a little longer than was comfortable.

Carefully, Callie motioned to the stool beside them. "Can I sit?"

"Of course!" Arizona invited, inwardly cringing. Since when was she so awkward and so bad with women?

Callie wasn't just a woman, though. Callie was, well. _Callie_.

After a few minutes of easy small-talk, a woman strode towards them, her eyes lasciviously moving down Callie's body. She wasn't even trying to hide it, Arizona noted, getting the sudden urge to growl at her.

"Hi," the woman smiled as she stood before Callie.

"Hi," Callie smiled back, obviously not blind to the somehow complimentary way the woman had eyed her.

"Any chance you want to dance?" the woman smirked, offering out her hand in invitation.

Callie quickly looked towards April's wide, impressed eyes and Arizona's perfectly put-together expression.

"Go for it," Arizona breathed. She didn't know why she'd given her ex-wife permission. Callie didn't need it.

But it worked, because Callie turned back to the woman and took the proffered hand. "There's a big chance I do."

Together, they walked out towards the dance floor, and Arizona nostalgically watched them go. How long had it been since _she'd_ danced with Callie? Surely before the plane crash. Lifetimes ago.

As the woman walked Callie onto the dance floor, she turned her head and caught sight of a blonde watching them with so much intensity that it almost scared her. Had she just gotten in between something? She hoped not.

"Come on," April insisted after a minute of watching Arizona's somber expression. "Let's go."

Arizona knit her eyebrows together, tearing her eyes away from her ex-wife. "Where?"

"Dance!" April explained. Before Arizona could come up with an excuse, April grabbed her hand, pulling her friend out onto the dance floor.

* * *

"Are you sure your girlfriend is okay with this?" the woman asked carefully, pulling a few inches away from Callie.

"Girlfriend?" Callie questioned. "I don't have a girlfriend."

The woman raised her eyebrows. "You aren't with that hot blonde?"

Callie looked over her shoulder and spotted Arizona, who seemed to immediately look away as soon as brown eyes landed on her. Weird. "Oh, no!" she laughed. Which was true. Arizona wasn't her girlfriend. They'd been together...a lifetime ago.

"Hmm," the woman commented thoughtfully.

Callie eyed her curiously. "What?"

The woman shrugged. "I don't know. The way she looks at you..."

Callie looked back towards Arizona, who was then easily dancing with April, looking positively radiant. "How?" Callie pressed. Suddenly, she had to know.

Which was weird. But still. She had to know.

"I don't know," the woman repeated, unable to quite put her finger on it. She watched Arizona silently, then her eyes snapped up to meet Callie's curious brown orbs. "Kind of like you're her sun."

* * *

"Does Callie look like she's into it?" Arizona asked between gritted teeth, attempting to continue her façade of happiness and to appear carefree.

"Look at her yourself!" April instructed, refusing to give her friend a play-by-play of Callie's interactions.

Hesitantly, Arizona turned to watch her ex-wife, just as the tall, blonde woman drew Callie in closer. "Yuck," Arizona muttered under her breath.

It was just all so...stupid. Here she was, finally knowing who she was and what she wanted, and she couldn't have it.

"I should have fought harder," Arizona lamented. "I should have fought harder for her. For us."

April sighed, stopping the gyration of her hips to seriously look at her best friend. "Do you want to be with her? Like, really?"

Slowly, sadly, Arizona nodded. So, maybe Callie wasn't _it_ for her, like Abe had said. Maybe there was still love out there.

But that didn't mean she wanted it. She didn't want a new or different love. She wanted love with Callie, again.

"Then fight," April instructed. "It's never too late."

Arizona smirked, rolling her eyes. "Yes it is."

"It's not," April insisted. "There's always a chance."

* * *

When Callie caught sight of Arizona and April getting ready to go, she grabbed her own things, realizing that she didn't want to stay any longer herself, either. Hanging out at the bar had been fun, and she usually would have loved dancing, but that night — with Arizona there — she just felt on edge.

It didn't feel right somehow. Which was _crazy_. But that was how it felt.

As April and Arizona headed out the door, April offered, "I'm going to go grab the car and bring it around so you don't have to walk so far."

Arizona smiled and nodded gratefully. After dancing in heels all evening, she knew that she would be sore the next day. Better not to make it worse than it already would be.

"I'll be right back," April waved, scurrying off towards her car.

A minute later, Arizona heard an "Arizona!" and immediately stiffened. _Callie_. She turned towards the woman who was suddenly beside her. "Hey," she smiled.

"Hi," Callie grinned back. "Did you have fun?"

Arizona shrugged. "Yeah. It was good to get out." Callie nodded. "What about you?"

Callie made a face. "Wasn't bad. You know I never say no to dancing."

Arizona smiled wistfully. "I remember."

Callie offered a genuine smile in return. "This is good," she offered generously. "You and I. Being...friends, almost. We're, like, friends," she repeated.

Arizona could only muster up a weak upturn of her lips in response. Friends? This was torture. It was impossible. It had to be. But what could she say? "Yeah," she breathed, swallowing back her pain. "Friends."

* * *

The next day in the cafeteria, Arizona grabbed her tray and looked around for a familiar face. Finally, she caught sight of Alex, Jo, and...Callie, sitting at a table.

Seriously?

Still, she made her way towards them, determined to be a grown up and to swallow the sudden eerie pain that threatened to consume her. "Hi," she sat down, offering her _friends_ a timid smile.

Jo smiled back, Alex gave her a familiar head-nod "hello," and Callie seemed to smile easily. "Hey."

"So," Alex continued, going back to their previous conversation. "You were saying you danced with a hot chick. How hot was she?"

Callie's eyes inadvertently widened, and she stole a quick look at Arizona, who immediately focused on dressing her salad, seemingly uninterested.

"Right," Callie nodded hesitantly, her eyes shifting between her ex-wife and her ex-wife's supposed _exceptionally_ interesting salad. "Kind of...hot," she answered uneasily. "I mean," she shrugged. "She was nice. Blonde. Skinny."

"Like Robbins," Alex commented. God, was he incapable of reading the freakin' room?

Arizona's head snapped up, and Callie closed her eyes, inwardly cringing. "No," she argued weakly.

"Are you going again?" Jo asked.

"Did you hook up?" Alex pressed.

Arizona loudly — and childishly, she later realized — threw down her fork. "I've gotta go," she announced. "Do...something else," she finished vaguely. Immediately, she grabbed her tray and headed for the door.

If there was anything she hated as much as seeing Callie dancing and flirting with other women, it had to be hearing her talking about them.

She just...needed to get out of there. She couldn't bear it.

"Dude," Alex breathed once his mentor had walked away, easily reading her inner turmoil. "You should go figure out what the hell is up with her."

Callie sighed and, unable to help herself, stood up to follow her ex-wife. What could be wrong? Last night, they had been...cordial. Friendly, almost. What was going on now?

Quickly, she followed after Arizona, who appeared to have disappeared into thin air. Where was she?

Arizona headed to the x-ray reading room in the Peds Ward, just needing a _minute_. A minute alone to think, to function, to stop wanting Callie so much. To get a freakin' grip.

She paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. What was she supposed to do, here? How was she supposed to fight? _Now_? And if she _did_ and lost — she surely would, right? — how would she recover?

She paced back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

What the hell was she supposed to do?

Callie made her way towards the Peds Ward, throwing open every door in search for her ex-wife. She had no idea what was going on with Arizona, but she wanted to know. She _had_ to know. She could never stand to see her upset.

Finally, she threw open the door to the reading room, and there the blonde was. "Arizona?" Callie questioned.

Arizona jumped, turning to her with wide eyes.

Callie shut the door behind them, walking towards her. "What's wrong?"

Arizona sighed. What was she supposed to say? What _could_ she say? "It was nice seeing you last night," she finally offered.

"Yeah," Callie smiled carefully. "It was fun."

Arizona nodded softly, silence settling between them. Finally, she continued, "But I can't be your friend."

The hopefulness Callie had felt warm her stomach suddenly disappeared, and instead, she felt her vital organs fall to the linoleum floor. Splat. "What? Why?"

"We can't _just_ be friends," she repeated. "Because I still love you. I'm still _in_ love with you!" her voice raised in both agony and relief in finally being able to just _say it_.

Callie was sure that her jaw was on the floor. WHAT?

"And I know that we're divorced, and I know that I have no right to be jealous, or to tell you I'm jealous — _I know that_. But," she shrugged helplessly, hopeless tears stinging her eyes. "I just need space. Not to see you or hear you talking about the women you're with. Because, Calliope," she shook her head, and Callie felt her breath hitch. How long had it been since Arizona had called her by her full name? "It just hurts too much," she finished. "It's too much. Wanting you all the time."

"Arizona..." Callie breathed, wanting to comfort her somehow. To ask one hundred questions. To know that everything would be okay.

Arizona exhaled a shuddering breath, tear and mascara tracks running down her cheeks. She opened her piercing eyes, looking not at Callie, but _into_ her.

Callie felt her hair stand on end. Arizona knew her. Arizona _saw_ her. More than anyone else ever had or would, maybe.

"You are the love of my life," Arizona whispered. Present tense. Callie raised her eyebrows, her heart fluttering in her chest. "And...what I've learned is I don't want _anyone_ else."

What could Callie do? How long had she ached for these words? For her wife — her ex-wife — to fight for her? For them?

But that was Arizona fighting. Arizona still loved her. And wanted her. Two years later. And she was miserable.

"And I know I might be too late," Arizona continued to babble when Callie only continued to stare at her, stunned into silence. "But I want to fight for us. To show you that we're still worth it, that we still..." she shook her head, searching for the words. "That we meant something."

"We did," Callie breathed, her throat dry and raspy.

Arizona nodded. They _had_. "Yeah," she shakily continued, wiping away the tears that continued to stream down her face. "I just...I love you. Everything about you." Slowly, she wrapped her arms around herself, holding on tightly, as if she'd fall apart without the weight of her own arms holding her ribcage together. "I think we're made for each other," she whispered. "So...as much as I want to...I _can't_ just be your friend. Not when I want everything with you." She sucked in a deep, nervous breath, anxiously awaiting her ex-wife's reaction.

Callie stood still as stone, still swallowing back the tears that threatened to consume her. She didn't know the right thing to do for them — for the long term — but she knew what she needed to do in that moment.

She had always been hyperaware of Arizona's physical space: when to cross in and when to stay far, far away.

So, in that moment, she knew that Arizona needed Callie to cross into it just as much as Callie needed to herself. With a shallow breath and one quick motion, her arms were around her ex-wife, clutching the shorter woman as tightly against her as she possibly could. God, it had been so long. Too long.

With a relieved whimper, Arizona wrapped her arms around her ex-wife, her body sagging against Callie's as the taller woman held them both up, as if it was the most important job in the world.

Callie let out a deep, calming exhalation as her arms pulled Arizona impossibly tighter against her.

Arizona gratefully buried her face into Callie's scrub top, finally — finally — feeling okay. And whole. And like herself again.

Callie hadn't yet responded to Arizona's words. To Arizona baring her thoughts and soul and entire self. But in a way, she also _had_.

This only proved that — despite everything else — the depth of their love for one another hadn't faded. It hadn't disappeared. It was still there. That hadn't changed.

Callie would always feel the _most_ — for better or worse — with Arizona. She would always feel most unbearably, beautifully human with Arizona. With the woman...she was made for.

And Callie was, and always would be, Arizona's safe place to fall.


	90. Chapter 90

**Just a quick silly thing because I was bored. Total AU. Written after 12x04. Set in the future.**

* * *

"Oh, Arizona! I didn't see you. I'm sorry, I'll –"

"Callie," Arizona interrupted, getting up from the on-call room's bed to face her ex-wife.

"Hmm?" Callie asked, an odd sense of nervousness suddenly swirling around her stomach.

Arizona swallowed inaudibly before sharing her truth. "I miss you," she admitted honestly. She stood silently in front of the woman she loved, bleak and exposed.

Callie's breath caught in her throat, but she before she could even think, she was shaking her head, murmuring, "Arizona…"

"I mean it," Arizona vowed, ducking her head to force the taller woman to meet her eyes. "I _miss_ you, Calliope. And I'm still in love with you. I'm _so_ in love with you. Even after all this time."

Callie felt her eyes bulge. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to run into Arizona's arms or to run out the door, but she find that she was unable to do either. Her feet were superglued to the floor.

"And I don't mean to…" Arizona shook her head, clearing it. "Penny's…_great_. And I'm glad that you found someone…else. But I don't think she's what's best for you."

Callie knit her eyebrows together. "What?" What was Arizona saying? And who did she think she was? "What's best for me, then?" she challenged.

After a moment of pause, out came, "I am. At least, I think I _could_be. And I _know_ that you're what's best for me." She bit her lip, attempting to read her ex-wife's incomprehensible expression. "You're just…you're everything. You're _my_ everything. And, more than anything, I want to be everything for you, again."

Callie exhaled a shuddering breath as she attempted to make a decision about what to do next. About…where to go from there. But it didn't take much reflecting, or thinking, or processing. Because, really, she already knew.

"Arizona," she breathed, suddenly overcome by a swell of emotion.

Arizona fearfully kept their eyes locked, terrified for what would come out of Callie's beautiful mouth next. It could either be a salve to her soul, or it could destroy her entirely.

Callie softly shook her head, in awe of it all. Of how deeply she could love. Or how much she could hurt. Of how strongly she could heal.

Of how imperfectly imperfect Arizona was and how, after all this time, Callie knew that still, all she wanted was her.

"You've always been my everything. Don't you get that?"

Arizona's eyes widened in surprise that time.

"You're the person I vowed to spend my life with. You've always been the one. You always will be."

Arizona whimpered. "But…?" she began. She knew there had to be a "but" coming, and she was ready to vehemently fight it. She was ready to convince Callie that they were worth it. They were worth it all. Their love was worth it all.

Callie shook her head. "But nothing. If you're in, then I'm in."

Arizona felt her heart begin beating in her ears, a gust of strong wind coursing through her fluttering stomach.

"I've been waiting for you," Callie continued. "To get it all together, to figure out what you want…"

Arizona stepped forward, reaching down to grab Callie's hand – needing to touch her somehow.

Callie's breath hitched, and she looked down at their adjoined hands: a mixture of milk and caramel.

"I've been waiting for _you_," Arizona countered. "To…heal. The way you gave me space to heal after…all of it."

Callie slowly nodded, suddenly understanding. Arizona had been waiting for her. They'd been…God, they'd been selfless. They'd each been trying to let the other be happy, and to be happy for the other. And wasn't that the definition of love?

It was.

It was love. It was real, true love.

"I'm still in love with you, too," Callie exhaled, her heart exploding in her chest as she finally admitted it. Her truth. What had been her truth…forever.

She was still in love with Arizona. She was.

They were.

It was love. It was real, true love.

And it always would be.


	91. Chapter 91

**Set sometime after 12x05. Total AU. (And probably the worst thing I've ever written, but shhh. Posting it anyway.)**

* * *

"Hey," Callie breathed, suddenly alone with only Arizona. She didn't know how to raise the subject of what she'd recently learned: that Arizona still loved her – really, really loved her – and that she still loved Arizona.

"Hey," Arizona whispered, hesitantly looking up to meet her ex-wife's eyes. Since she'd finally confessed her ever-present feelings to Callie the week before, she'd been avoiding her like the plague. Callie had walked away, after all. And, sure, _she'd been paged_, but still.

She'd hadn't given an answer.

And Arizona wasn't sure if she wanted one. She wasn't sure she could bear it.

Callie was still with Penny, anyway. Wasn't she?

Callie cleared her throat, hesitantly looking into nervous blue eyes. "What do you think of Penny? Honestly."

Arizona's heart sank. Of course. Callie wanted to introduce _Perfect, Pretty Penny_ to Sofia, or she wanted to move in with her, or she wanted to propose to her, even. Of course. Fighting the tears suddenly stinging her eyes, she fought her jealousy and pain. Penny…made Callie happy. And wasn't that all Arizona had ever wanted for her?

Callie's eyes widened and she worried her bottom lip between her teeth: waiting.

"She's…" Arizona shook her head: fighting, fighting, fighting. "She's _perfect_," she finished. That was what Callie wanted to hear, wasn't it?

Callie raised her eyebrows, and Arizona prattled on. "I mean, she makes you happy, right? And you like her – maybe even love her – so she has to be pretty perfect, righ–"

"I love you," Callie interrupted, putting the blonde out of her misery. "And I ended things with her."

Arizona's eyebrows flew up to her hairline, because what? What had Callie just said? "Wait…"

"You said you loved me," Callie continued. "Still."

Slowly, Arizona nodded. She had said that. It was true.

"And I still love you. Because _you_ make me happy."

Arizona's heart took off in her chest. She had desperately ached to hear those words for the past two years. She had been waiting. And she would have waited her entire life, if need be. "But what about…" she paused, not quite understanding. Callie had been into Penny. Really into her. "What about Penny?"

Callie sighed patiently, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. What did she have to do to prove to Arizona how _all in _she was? She wanted _a life_ with Arizona. A whole life. Together. Forever. "You're right. She was pretty close to being perfect. And you're not." She offered the blonde a loving smile to soften the harshness of her words.

But Arizona couldn't smile back. Not yet. She felt every fiber of her being buzzing in anticipation. And fear. "I'm not," she agreed. And it was true. But, well, neither was Callie.

"I know," Callie nodded, stepping forward and finally breaking through the invisible wall that had separated them for so long. She proffered her hand, palm up, and after a minute of hesitation, Arizona took it, instantly intertwining their fingers. She was sure that Callie heard her exhale a shaky breath as she attempted to slow her suddenly fluttering heart.

Callie squeezed her porcelain hand, obsidian eyes locked with topaz, breathing, "But you're perfect for me."


	92. Chapter 92

**AU. Written after 12x05. Set in a while. Inspired by Japril.**

* * *

"High school sophomores on their way back from college visits. Got caught in the storm; two busses overturned and one crashed into them. Robbins, Torres, Kepner, Deluca, Karev, can you go in the ambulance and triage on scene?" Chief Bailey looked around her, searching for more courageous surgeons she could trust to help. "You!" she called towards two anxious interns. "Go with them! Follow your attendings' orders."

Quickly, Arizona, Callie, Alex, Jackson, and April headed towards the door to the ER, anxious to mount the vehicle, and the interns eagerly scuffled behind them. Once everyone had boarded, the paramedics shut the doors and immediately began heading towards the closed-down highway, determined to fulfill their purpose and help save lives.

In the back of the rig, the doctors began gloving up, distributing supplies to help stop bleeding and to provide any immediate urgent care.

Jackson was the one to first interrupt the silence. "Guys, we've been through this before. If the busses are on fire, watch out for the scent of gas – there could be a fuel leak."

"Right," April nodded. "Help everyone you can, but don't put your own lives in danger," she added sagely, looking pointedly at Jackson. She couldn't help but get nervous, thinking about the last time they'd been in a similar position. "Let's agree on that now."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"Got it," an intern said.

The ambulance came to a sudden stop, and Alex threw open the rig's door, letting everyone out.

As the doctors took in the carnage before them, he couldn't help to breathe out, "Dude."

"Yeah," Arizona sighed, looking out at the bloodied high schoolers who had managed to exit the bus. "Kids."

Callie worriedly looked towards her ex-wife, anxiously biting her lip. "Well, let's get to it." And, with that, she grabbed her first-aid kit and a tank of oxygen and headed towards the injured teens, collapsed and in shock in the middle of the street. The interns and Alex followed after.

"I'm going to see if I can help get kids out of the bus," Arizona decided.

"I'll go with you," Jackson offered.

"No!" April blurted out, causing her friends to curiously turn towards her. "I'll go. You go help Torres."

Jackson rolled his eyes. "April, I need to go where I'm needed. I –"

"NO!" April repeated. "You are needed away from the busses. _I_ need you away from the busses."

After a silent moment, their eyes meeting in a challenging duel, Jackson sighed in surrender. "I'm going to go triage the kids who already got out."

April exhaled in relief, and Arizona nodded in understanding.

"Be careful," he warned them both, meeting April's eyes for an extra second. If only love had an on and off switch. It'd be far easier.

"We will," Arizona smiled softly, putting her hand on April's shoulder and steering them both towards one of the overturned busses.

* * *

"Did we get everyone?" Callie asked a while later, coming up behind April and Alex. Arizona had gone off a few kids who desperately needed urgent care.

"Almost," April responded. "There's a few more in there, and we're trying to break windows to get them out, but…"

"But the engine's already on fire and we smell oil and if we don't hurry, then we're all dead," Alex finished harshly.

Callie's eyes widened. "Let's hurry, then."

* * *

All the busses were clear but one. Little by little, the kids who still had heartbeats were loaded onto ambulances as the doctors continued to make sure that their hearts _continued beating_.

"I got one!" April called, carrying a small unconscious girl towards the ambulances lined up several hundred feet in the other direction. "I'm going to go get her help, then I'll come back and help you get the last of them."

Alex and Callie didn't even acknowledge her with more than weak nods as they worked to continue freeing the three high schoolers still stuck inside.

"Can you move?" Callie asked. "We need to hurry and get you guys out."

"We're stuck!" they responded.

"Cover your faces," Alex instructed.

"What?" they asked.

"Cover your faces!" he repeated, and as soon as they did, he kicked the window with all his might, hoping they would be able to get out that way. It didn't bulge. "Help me!" he called towards Callie.

On the count of three, they both kicked against the glass, effectively shattering it. Finally.

"Can you guys fit through here?" Callie asked urgently. The fire was spreading. She could feel the heat.

"I think so," the boy replied, worming his way through the narrow hole, wincing at the pain of his injuries.

"Okay, good. Good," Callie encouraged, helping him out and onto his feet.

Alex began a primary assessment as Callie crouched in front of the girls still inside. "Girls, come on. We need to get you out."

"We're trying," one assured her, slowly angling herself towards the now missing window.

"I can't!" the other worried. "I'm still stuck between these two seats!"

Callie could feel the fire spreading. She could smell it in the air. She was afraid to look down and see it lapping at her ankles.

Slowly, the first girl managed to get out, her leg appearing to be broken but intact.

"Good," Callie commended as Alex grabbed her and pulled her up, allowing the girl to put her weight on him.

"Torres, we need to get out," Alex encouraged. The fire was spreading towards the wide trail of oil that was sure to send the entire bus – and them – aflame.

"Just a second!" Callie barked, not turning away from the girl still stuck inside. "Hey," she whispered. "What's your name?"

"Jenae," the girl croaked, feeling the bus heat up.

"Torres!" Alex shouted.

"Go on without me!" Callie called behind her. "I'll catch up with you in a minute!"

Normally, Alex would have never left her behind, but he was responsible for two kids, too, now. "I'll be right back," he promised. "I'll come back to help."

Callie nodded, her eyes still trained on Jenae. "Jenae," she smiled. "I'm Callie Torres. We're going to get you out of there, okay? But we need to hurry."

Jenae nodded, equally as desperate to get out as the doctor was to save her. "How?" she whined.

Callie sighed. "I don't know. Give me your hands, okay? You try to push, I'll pull."

The bus was within seconds of exploding. Callie felt it. She knew it. She just knew it. But she couldn't just leave this girl behind. Not when there was still a chance.

"I'm stuck! It hurts!" the girl shrieked.

"I know," Callie apologized sympathetically, but she continued pulling. Life over limb. She just needed to get this girl out and get them both out of there.

"My leg's slipping!" Jenae called. "It's working!"

"Good," Callie muttered as she continued to focus on the task at hand, pulling as hard as she could.

With one final pull, she freed Jenae from between the seats, and the girl was able to crawl through the window with Callie's help. She was, however, too in shock to stand up on her own. Thank god she was small.

"Come on," Callie hoisted the girl up and backed away from the bus. She didn't know where she was going, but she just knew that she had to get them away from the impending explosion.

* * *

"I've got two more!" Alex called, heading towards his friends.

"Bring 'em over," April instructed, getting her stethoscope ready to listen for breath sounds and take vitals.

"Where's Callie?" Arizona asked her protégée.

"She's right behind me," Alex assured her, turning back towards the bus to look for Callie, who had promised to be at his heels.

"No, she's not," Arizona argued, her head turning from side to side as she urgently looked for her ex-wife.

Jackson stepped forward in an attempt to go help, but just as he did, he saw and heard the bus explode. They all did. Suddenly, the bus was aflame and shrapnel and glass shards were flying in every direction.

"Get down!" April called.

"WAIT!" Arizona exclaimed. "Callie! No, Callie! CALLIE!" Her face contorting, she ran towards the bus, desperate to help her ex-wife somehow. To save her. But, before she could, Alex caught up to her, wrapping his arms around her and refusing to let go – refusing to let her sacrifice herself in an attempt to save Callie.

If it was too late, then it was too late.

"NO!" Arizona exploded, clawing at Alex, trying to fight her way free of his strong arms. "**NO**!" She collapsed against him, no longer able to hold herself up.

"Kepner!" Alex called in desperation. "Help me!"

But, a few seconds later, the fire died down enough to see through the blazing smoke to see two forms hobbling towards them.

"Dr. Robbins…" Deluca began.

Jackson caught sight of them and immediately sprinted towards Callie and the girl she was holding up as they both choked on their coughs.

"Get me two gurneys!" he called towards the interns. "And oxygen! And dressings! GO!"

They quickly ran off, and Arizona mournfully lifted her eyes.

And there she was. Callie. Living and breathing.

And falling over.

Arizona tore from Alex's arms, rushing to Callie and helping her down onto the dirty asphalt. "Callie! Callie?! Can you hear me?!"

Callie's eyes fluttered open, looking at Arizona but not really _seeing_ her. "Did you get…" she paused. "Jenae?"

"She's fine," Arizona assured her, giving Callie's body a cursory glance as she checked for severe bleeding. "Can you tell me your name?" she tested.

Callie just groaned, overcome by the pain of her injuries.

"CALLIE!" Arizona screeched, needing a response as she tested Callie's awareness. "Who am I?!"

"Is she okay?!" April asked, rushing towards her friends.

"I – I don't know! Sh – she won't –"

"Let me see," April interrupted as Arizona continued to shake beside her.

"Hey, do we have any Peds doctors here?" a paramedic called towards them.

"Yeah!" Alex yelled. "Robbins and I."

"We've got some kids crashing," the paramedic offered. "We could use your help in rig one and three."

"Coming," Alex assured him, but his feet felt planted to the floor as he looked towards Arizona. "Robbins?" he asked gently, walking over to her. "We've gotta go. There are kids –"

"I can't leave her," Arizona shook her head. She was a good man in a storm. She couldn't leave Callie. She couldn't. Leave her. What if this was the last time she'd ever see her?

"Arizona…" he pleaded.

April stopped her work to reach out and squeeze her best friend's hand. She needed to focus on Callie right then. When the bus had exploded and shrapnel and glass had flown in every direction, much of it had embedded in her chest. It wasn't good. Some was deep enough to warrant surgery to repair the damage. "Arizona," April breathed. "Go. Help the kids. I've got her. I'll save her."

Alex began to lift Arizona from the wet black road, but Arizona fought against him, insisting, "Promise me! Promise me she'll live!"

Alex's eyes flashed to April's, begging his friend to tell his mentor what she needed to hear.

And April was confident. "I promise you. Now go."

* * *

In the back of the ambulance, Callie felt one thousand knives of pain stabbing her insides. She lifted the non-rebreather off her face, opening her eyes to take in her surroundings.

"Callie? Callie?" April asked, leaning towards her.

"What –" Callie paused. "What happened?"

April grabbed the non-rebreather, holding it over Callie's face to ensure that she still received the much-needed oxygen. "You were helping a high schooler out of an overturned bus when it exploded. You got hit with glass and shrapnel. You need surgery to get everything out, while making sure you won't bleed out. Do I have your consent?"

Callie paused momentarily, absorbing the information. "Yes. Of course."

April grabbed her hand. "You're going to be fine."

Callie nodded. "Is Ariz—Is everyone else okay?"

"Yes," April promised. Callie hadn't seen Arizona's reaction, but everyone else had. And everyone now knew how much Arizona still loved Callie. Even Arizona.

Callie released a sigh of relief, leaning back against the gurney and allowing April to lower the non-rebreather back over her face. Everyone was okay. Arizona was okay. She would be okay.

* * *

Arizona was coping. She was falling apart, but she was capital C Coping. She had to. Kids were counting on her. Parents were counting on her. There were lives at stake.

So she was compartmentalizing. Work now, Callie later.

Callie. _Callie_. Arizona was cracking over her. She was overcome with her ex-wife again. The woman she loved. It was all-consuming. She was overcome with love. Love she'd forgotten. Love that had taken sick leave while she'd been sick herself.

But it was there. God, she knew then that, more than anything, it was there. She was _consumed_ with love for Callie. And, in that moment, she was in surgery, so she couldn't _be there_. She couldn't watch Callie's surgery and ensure her safety because there was a kid, lying down in front of her, who needed saving.

So she was compartmentalizing. And it was unbearable.

Finally, as she finished the final stitch and closed up her patient, she headed towards the scrub room, eager to scrub out and finally allow herself space and time to let the tears fall.

Callie would live. She would live. April had promised. Callie would be okay. And, whether she would ever exist with Arizona again, she would exist somewhere. With someone. Happy. And that was enough.

Almost.

* * *

Alex raced around the surgical floor, searching in vain for his mentor, when – finally – he found her rushing out of OR 2. "Robbins!" he called.

"Alex!" she exclaimed, meeting him in the middle. "How is she? Is she alive? Is she in surgery? Is she awake?"

Alex grabbed Arizona by the shoulders, hoping to somehow calm her down. He met watery blue eyes. She looked destroyed. She was falling apart at the seams. Unable to function. Grieving for a love she only then realized she'd lost. Grieving for the potential loss of Callie – not only as the woman she loved, but as a human who undeniably changed the world daily, by merely existing.

She had changed the world that day, after all. She had saved a high schooler who would have died otherwise.

And she had changed Arizona. She had changed her from the very first time Arizona had laid eyes on her. And ever since.

"Are you ready?" Alex asked, his hands tightening on Arizona's arms in an attempt at comfort.

"Yes. No. Wait," she took a deep breath. "Is it bad?"

"No," Alex swore. "She's in recovery."

Arizona's eyes widened before, instantly, she fell apart. Her hands covered her face as she began to sob in relief and – not knowing what to do – Alex pulled her to him in a brotherly hug.

The blonde wrapped her arms around her friend, holding on for dear life. She wished she were holding Callie.

"You still love her," Alex observed. It wasn't a question.

Arizona nodded against his chest. She did. With every fiber of her being. And she had no idea how she was only just then realizing it.

"I'll take you to her," Alex offered gruffly, his hand coming to softly lay against Arizona's back as he lead her towards Callie's recovery room.

When they reached Callie's room, April was just slipping out. "Hey," she smiled softly as she saw her best friend's face. "You okay?"

Arizona nodded. She was okay. She had to be. For Callie. "Can I see her?"

April nodded softly. It all made sense then. Arizona's strange behavior around her ex. She'd loved her. She'd never stopped. "Page me if you need anything," she squeezed Arizona's shoulder, pulling Alex with her in order to give Arizona the space they both knew she needed.

Taking a deep breath, Arizona opened the door.

And there Callie was. Still unconscious and severely bruised, but _there_. Breathing: her chest moving up and down. Existing. Making the world Arizona knew and loved continue turning. Because a world without Callie wasn't one in which Arizona wished to exist.

Because Callie was _her_ world. How had she only seen that when her ex-wife had nearly ceased to exist all together?

She hated what had happened that night just as much as she was grateful for it.

Because right then she knew. She was in love with Calliope Torres. She always had been, in the same way that she always would be.

Arizona didn't know what to do. More than anything, she wanted to run up to Callie and kiss her and cling to her and feed off of her warmth.

But she didn't have the right. Did she? She was Callie's ex-wife. Sofia's mom. Nothing more.

Callie herself had proven to her that nothing in their once beautiful relationship was sacred. She had moved on. She had dated Penny – loved her even – for a long while, several months before. And Penny had called her "Calliope" and that had been _okay_.

It wasn't okay to Arizona. Especially not then.

Because Arizona still loved her. And Callie – Calliope – was meant for _her_. Just as she was once meant for Callie.

She hoped that, somehow, Callie would still think they were meant for one each other. She would, right? She would. Maybe.

* * *

Finally, Arizona resorted to pulling up a chair beside her ex-wife's hospital bed, cradling one soft caramel hand between each of her own.

The entire situation felt oddly like the aftermath of the car crash. And it was unbearable. How did Callie keep ending up in her shaking hands?

She reverently stroked her ex-wife's skin with her thumbs, reveling in the feeling. She'd missed her.

She _did_ miss her. Still.

And that's what she'd say, as soon as Callie woke up.

* * *

What felt like hours later, Arizona finally caught sight of Callie's eyes fluttering open as she stirred: waking up from the anesthesia.

Callie, squinting against bright lights, looked down at her hand, enveloped between two ivory surgeon hands that she had memorized.

Arizona.

She looked up and into beautiful, beautiful clear cerulean eyes. Towards pink cheeks and chapped lips.

She took in the whiteness of the room. She was dead, wasn't she? She had to be.

Why else would Arizona be there?

Callie had to be in Heaven. This was her Heaven, wasn't it?

But where was Mark? And where was Sofia?

"Hi," Arizona breathed at last, finding her voice. Callie. She was awake. She was _alive_.

Callie felt her lips turn up into a smile. _Heaven_. Arizona's voice was heaven. And she had this white glow around her, illuminating her in Callie's blurry eyes. "I always knew you were an angel," she croaked.

Arizona laughed and, midway through, it turned into a sob. "You're not dead, Calliope," she whispered, gratefully squeezing a strong hand. She lifted the hand up to her lips, placing a soft kiss over her knuckles. "Thank you for not being dead."

"Hey…" Callie breathed as she watched blue eyes fill with tears. "I'm okay. It's okay."

And, with that, Arizona collapsed. Completely fell apart. Crumbled. Fell over Callie's arm: weeping.

"Arizona…" Callie whispered. "Look at me." What was going on? Why was Arizona crying?

Arizona looked up and into delicious chocolate eyes, feeling a sudden sense of calm flow through her. Callie was looking at her with so much kindness and concern, even despite everything.

"It's not okay," Arizona argued, wiping at her nose with her sleeve. "It's _not_."

Callie knit her eyebrows together. "What? What's not?"

Arizona shook her head, attempting to find a way to say it. She didn't know what to say. Nothing? Everything?

She looked down, her fingers tracing abstract patterns on her ex-wife's hand. "How much I miss you," she admitted. Hesitantly, she looked up, once again meeting Callie's eyes. "_I miss you_," she repeated. "And love you, and want you, and," she looked down, focusing on Callie's hand. "I thought – I thought you were gone."

Callie's eyes widened. After the last two years, that had been the last thing she'd ever expected to hear. "Arizona?" she waited for blue eyes to meet hers, but to no avail. "Arizona, look at me."

Gulping, Arizona's eyes snapped up to curious brown orbs, her heart stuttering at their intensity. A caramel hand shakily pulled out of Arizona's tight grasp to wipe away at her falling tears. She couldn't help it. She couldn't stand seeing the woman in pain. What had happened?

As Arizona felt the warmth of Callie's skin against hers, she couldn't hold back the shuddering breath that escaped her lips as she closed her eyes and leaned into the welcome touch.

Callie's eyes were still trained on her as Arizona opened them, reaching out to grab her hand yet again. She needed the comfort. She needed the strength. "Callie," she breathed.

How was she supposed to say how she felt? What she needed to say? How could she explain how deeply Callie had made her mark? How Callie had left Arizona's heart tender for her. With a bruise of longing. With a breath of unfinished business.

How could she explain that Callie's presence was a quiet rhythm, a salve to her soul, a hum of comfort? A fire in both her heart and in her hearth, keeping her warm and comfortable.

How could she describe it? Emotion. Want. Ache. Love. The oxygen she couldn't fully inhale without Callie by her side.

It all made sense then. All the pain. The hurt.

Callie was her true love. It was something she'd always known. And Arizona had screwed it up. But she hadn't realized that she could unscrew it up. Or, not that so much as replace their former love with something so, so much better. If she only tried.

She exhaled a tremulous breath, her eyes never breaking from Callie's. To have her ex-wife look at her, like this, fully _seeing_ her after so much time…

She felt a shiver run down her spine.

She and Callie were just meant to be. They were inevitable. It was that simple.

Some aspects in the universe just were meant tocome together again and again. Endlessly. Ceaselessly.

And they were one of them. They were an aspect of the universe that should not exist separately but together.

Like the planets were meant to orbit the sun, they were meant to orbit each other. Arizona was sure of it.

"Callie," Arizona began, reaching out to lovingly tuck a strand of hair behind Callie's ear, buying herself time. She sighed. "I messed up. I loved you more than anything. More than I could never love anyone. And I betrayed you."

Callie's wide eyes remained trained on her, filled with a mixture of curiosity and warning.

Arizona took a deep breath. "And I can never take back how…unrecognizable I was. How much I hurt and how much I hurt you. But I can tell you how much it breaks me that I did something so horrible to the woman I love."

Callie gulped, her heart taking off in her chest. She had waited for this for so long: a genuine apology. Words that felt like more than words.

"Because I love you. I _love_ you, Calliope," she continued, and Callie shivered at the way Arizona always made the word "love" and her name sound like a song.

God. She'd never thought she'd hear those words. "I love you." Ever again. And she never thought they'd sound like this. So fresh and so true that she genuinely believed them. With all that she was.

She felt an odd sense of deja vu flow through her. Had April mentioned Arizona during the ambulance ride? Something about…her breaking down? Running towards the flaming bus? Running towards her? For _her_? Risking it all?

"And I'm sorry that I…forgot. But I remember now. _You_ are the love of my life. You are the only woman I ever want to love." She bit her bottom lip, carefully watching Callie's stone-still face.

Listening to Arizona's euphonious voice, Callie was shocked by her words. Blissfully, blissfully shocked. Because, really, that was what she had yearned for. For an honest, true apology. For Arizona to be as committed to Callie as Callie had always been to Arizona.

Love and redamancy. Reciprocity. Duality and oneness.

As she caught sight of the blonde's nervous and hopeful smile, Callie's heart burst in joy.

Arizona made her happy. She always had. It was as simple as that.

As Callie's lips turned up – just the slightest bit – Arizona felt a sense of numbing wonder fill her heart. That was good, right? Callie's reaction?

With her heart pounding in her ears, Arizona continued, "I thought you were dead. For a second…I thought you were gone. And I realized that I can't live without you. I don't want to. You make my life better just by existing, but I want you _with me_." She looked up shyly. "I'm happiest with you. I'm…complete. With you."

Callie tightly squeezed Arizona's hand before retracting it, and the blonde's face fell in defeat.

Of course Callie didn't feel the same. It was too late. She was too late. It was too much to ask for. Another shot.

But Callie wasn't pulling away. It wasn't that. It was that holding her hand wasn't enough.

Callie wanted all of Arizona. She reached towards her, her arm outstretched, her hand – an olive branch – extended as it ran over her ex-wife's right knee, her shoulder, her arm. How long had it been? She'd ached for Arizona – for her body, for her mind, for her rivaling soul – and she'd forced herself to forget. To forget. To ignore the ache. The twinge. The cramp. The pang. Because she hadn't been given another option.

Until then. Because Arizona had admitted that Callie completed her in the way that she completed Callie.

That they were made for each other.

"Callie…?" Arizona interrupted the silence, pleading for words.

"What are you saying?" Callie intoned.

Arizona exhaled a calming breath. "I'm saying I love you. I _still_ love you. And I'm asking for you to put some faith in me. To trust that I'll protect your heart this time and that I'll love you every second. To trust that – even when I hate you – I'll love you even more."

Callie felt her entire body buzzing. Humming. Thrumming.

Positively tingling.

Because that was a heady promise, but one that she somehow trusted Arizona to keep.

"I trust you," Callie promised in return. "Now. With my heart. With everything." She watched as Arizona sighed in relief. She must have been waiting for those words for a long time. She must have been waiting for forgiveness for longer. "And I love you – I still love you – too." She reached for Arizona's smaller hand, gently scooting towards the edge of the narrow hospital bed as she pulled her ex-wife – the woman she loved – onto her feet.

Arizona looked at her in question. She wanted to feel relieved, but she needed to hear the words. She needed words before she could allow herself to breathe. "What are _you_ saying?" she countered.

Callie smiled genuinely then, feeling her full, untainted smile come out of hibernation. "I'm saying I don't want to settle for loving anyone else. You are the love of my life, and I only want you."

As Arizona's dimples finally lit up her face, and Callie playfully yanked on her arm again, encouraging the blonde to lay down beside her.

"Are you sure?" Arizona whispered, suddenly nervous. She'd yearned for Callie for so long, and she was only just then realizing it. But it was all-consuming. And all-terrifying. Every nerve in her body felt like the moment before the match burst into flame.

"Arizona. _Yes_," Callie assured her. Suddenly, all she could think about was Arizona's tender form molding to hers. "Please."

That was all the encouragement Arizona needed, and gingerly, she settled beside Callie, close enough that she felt the weight of her shoulder, and forearm, and hip, and thigh, and toes against her own. She turned onto her side, carousing in the view of the brunette's profile,in her scent, and in her presence altogether. She ducked her head, placing a sweet kiss on her shoulder.

Callie turned her head and watched the blonde, their faces so close that she could see nothing else. She lifted her arm and wrapped it around Arizona, pulling her impossibly closer.

Warmth. Warmth was all that filled her.

"Sofia's at Meredith's," Arizona explained before Callie could panic. "I kind of, um, had a breakdown. So she offered to take Sof."

"Oh, good," Callie sighed, just enjoying the silence for several moments. "We'll get her tomorrow."

Arizona smirked. "No, _I'll_ get her tomorrow. You won't be leaving this bed for a while."

"Right," Callie remembered. The surgery. She'd forgotten already. The day had felt like a lifetime.

"Callie?" Arizona began meekly.

"Hmm?"

"I'm really glad you didn't die." The words sounded almost comical, but they were true. So true. Arizona wouldn't have lived if Callie had died.

Just as Callie wouldn't have lived in Arizona had died after the plane crash. Life would have been unbearable.

Callie burrowed her nose into feathery blonde hair. She'd missed this. The feeling of lying with the person who had both the power to heal and destroy her, but who had chosen to provide her nothing to goodness. To love her indefinitely, and to never hurt her on purpose. "Me, too." If she had died, she never would have gotten _this_.

And _this_ was something she wanted to marvel at forever. Arizona. She wanted to marvel at Arizona. Forever.

Arizona pushed herself up on her arm, raising herself up above Callie to face her head on. As her other hand came up to trace the new worry and laughter lines she hadn't yet memorized, she heard Callie's breath hitch, her eyes becoming lidded at the sweet, delicious feeling of the woman she loved caressing her skin with all the gentility in the world.

"I love you," Arizona breathed, her sweet breath running over Callie's lips.

Callie opened her eyes, contently perusing Arizona's expressive face. She couldn't tell whether her heart was thrumming in her chest with anxiety or whether it had slowed as she surrendered to a sense of calm. She was both overwhelmed by Arizona's sudden companionship and completely sated by it.

Both nervous and frenzied and agitated and soothed and serene and calm.

Slowly, Arizona leaned closer, wanting – more than anything – to capture Callie's full lips in her own, but she also felt overwhelmed by the fact that the kiss – this kiss – would likely be the last _first kiss_ either of them would ever have. Because, like their first initial kiss in the dirty bar bathroom at Joe's, this felt new.

It had been two years, after all. They were different people. It was new.

"Arizona," Callie whimpered. She was tingling in anticipation. Between their steady eye contact, their whispered words, and the fact that Arizona was _right there_, with her, loving her entirely, Callie could feel her entire body hum with how much she wanted the blonde. With how much she just…wanted. Wanted.

Arizona smirked, but really, she herself was almost overwhelmed with the electricity she could feel flowing between them. It had been so long.

Finally, she lowered her head, effectively brushing Callie's lips with her own.

Callie brought a hand up to clutch the back of Arizona's neck, forcing pink lips to keep their hold on hers. She kissed the blonde, and she forgot every other mouth. She kissed her mouth as if it was the only one her lips had ever touched.

And, in a way, it was. No one else compared. No one else could ever compare.

Arizona kissed Callie with everything she had, hungrily inhaling her contented sigh. She was in bliss.

Arizona kissed her with her honeyed face in her hands.

Callie kissed her, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer. Heaven.

They took their time.

They had the rest of their lives to go.

* * *

**YO. It's five a.m. and this took nine hours. Leave yo girl some love.**


	93. Chapter 93

**Set in the future. Another (unrealistic) reconciliation story. Written after 12x05. Set later.**

* * *

Callie was eating lunch in a supply closet. A _closet_. Like a scared little middle schooler who was hiding from the mean girls or from the boy she liked.

Except Callie wasn't hiding. She just didn't want to _deal_ with any of it. With Meredith's and Amelia's misplaced anger and with Penny's deceit.

She was just tired. She was tired of it all being so hard. Of never catching a break.

And she knew that she couldn't blame Penny or even the universe entirely for this one – after all, she had willfully broken up with the woman – but still. She wouldn't have if Blake hadn't omitted information. She wouldn't have if she hadn't felt deceived.

So she was alone again. And, believe it or not, she was at a place where she was _okay_ with that. She just would have preferred, you know, not to eat lunch alone in a supply closet in an attempt to avoid everyone.

She was just finishing up her rice, sweet potatoes, and salad – she was trying to feed herself and Sofia two vegan meals a day to slow global warming – when someone threw open the door and ducked inside.

Callie's head snapped up, and she was pleasantly surprised to see that it was Arizona.

"Hi," the blonde chirped, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. As if she tracked down Callie in supply closets all the time. As if they still talked to each other.

"Hi," Callie offered, her eyebrows furrowed in confused question.

Arizona moved forwards and attempted to gingerly lower herself onto the floor to sit beside Callie. The process ended up being a little less graceful than she would have liked.

Callie only watched her in silence. What was going on?

"I saw you come in here," Arizona explained once she was situated. "And I didn't think you should eat alone."

She lifted the lid of her own leftovers, trying to slow her overworking heart. She hadn't been so close to Callie – and alone with Callie – in a long time. And it felt different now that she knew that she still loved her ex-wife and still wanted her back.

But Callie didn't seem to notice her nervousness. She only looked down and frowned at her lunch. "A sandwich?" Since when did Arizona like sandwiches?

Arizona made a face. "I know. Deluca took my lunch bag by mistake this morning."

Callie raised her eyebrows in momentary surprise, then chuckled. "Right. You're living with a man now. I never saw that coming." She could be normal, right? They could be normal. It had been two years. They had moved on. She had moved on. Right?

"And you're with Penny," Arizona countered, her face betraying her true inner turmoil for a fraction of a second.

Callie pursed her lips, shaking her head. "No, I'm not."

Arizona's eyes drew up to curiously meet introspective chocolate brown orbs. "What? Because of Meredith? But –" she paused. "You were so happy."

"I _was_," Callie rolled her eyes. "It's just different now. We're just…" she shook her head, suddenly realizing where she was and who she was talking to. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be laying all my stuff on you."

Arizona smiled sincerely, without an ounce of hesitation. She had been Callie's "good man in a storm" once upon a time, and she could be that again. "No. I'm happy to listen."

Callie explored her ex-wife's face, weighing her sincerity and finding no signs of fraudulence. Arizona really was over her. Which Callie had suspected for a while. But she had always hoped…

What was she thinking? God. She sounded like a crazy woman. With an aching heart.

Which _so_ wasn't her. Right.

Finally, she supplied, "It's like…" she rolled her eyes. "It's like we're tainted now. You know? Like, nothing's sacred. We can't recover."

Arizona exhaled a tumultuous breath. "Like you and I? After I cheated?"

Well, out of every response she had expected from Arizona, it certainly hadn't been that. Arizona had never willingly brought up that night. She had always shied away from the subject, trying to delete it from existence.

But, now, she was looking at Callie, unblinking. Her words hanging in the air.

Callie didn't have the strength to tear her eyes away from those vulnerable baby blues. "Yeah," she finally breathed. "Like that. Betrayed."

Arizona slowly nodded, feeling that ache in the pit of her stomach return. If she were to look in the mirror, her face would be translucent white. She was sure of it. She looked down at her hands. "I'm sorry." She was full of apologies. And regrets. God, she wanted more than anything to be able to take back that night. To still be a woman Callie could love.

Because, man. She still loved Callie. With everything.

Before Callie could stop herself, her hand reached out to touch Arizona's. She saw blue eyes flash down to her caramel hand and quickly froze – not sure if she was allowed to break through her ex-wife's physical bubble. Slowly, she withdrew her hand, instead setting it down on the floor beside a slim thigh. "I know," she breathed.

Arizona nodded, trying to look away from that hand that was suddenly so close to her. It had almost touched her. She shivered at the mere thought. She ached for Callie's touch. She yearned for it.

She looked back into patient eyes, adding, "And thank you."

Callie's eyebrows furrowed in question.

"For afterwards. For trying again. For not giving up," Arizona explained. Callie really had loved her. Once.

Callie expelled a long breath, leaning her head back against the shelf and closing her eyes. "You don't have to thank me," she argued. She brought her gaze back to Arizona's waiting face. "You and I…"

Arizona felt her breath hitch in anticipation. She wanted Callie to say so much. She wanted a reason to tell her ex-wife the truth without messing everything up again.

Callie either didn't notice Arizona's strange disposition or didn't comment on the audible and noticeable change in her now haggard breathing. "I think," Callie paused, correcting herself. "I _know_ that you're – _were_ – my soulmate. Or one of them, anyway. So I don't regret it. I don't regret trying and trying again, even though it almost killed me. I'm glad that I can say that I did everything I could."

Arizona's eyes widened with every word that Callie spoke, and she felt her heart flutter uncontrollably in her chest. _This_ was the sign she'd been waiting for.

Callie seemed lost in thought, and Arizona allowed herself a moment to peer at Callie's face without fearfully averting her gaze, as she had so many times during their two agonizing years apart.

This beautiful, complex, brilliant, life-changing woman had just called Arizona her _soulmate_, and the weight of the statement wasn't wasted on Arizona. "You're mine," she breathed.

Callie slowly turned back towards Arizona, brows knit. "Your what?" What was Arizona talking about? And what the hell had she been thinking, bringing up old pain and wounds?

"Soulmate," Arizona finished without a doubt of uncertainty. "Not 'one of them.' The only one." She brought her eyes down to Callie's hand that had been so close to touching her. So close. It took all the self-control she had not to trace the lines of her ex-wife's long fingers with her own. It took all the self-control she had not to pull Callie to her.

Or to run.

She bit her lip, searching wide brown eyes for encouragement.

And Callie found herself unable to pull her eyes away from her ex-wife's. What was she saying? She felt her heart pounding in her chest, and she didn't like the feeling. The anticipation. The fear. The power Arizona had always had over her. It wasn't something she'd acknowledged in two years.

It was almost unbearable. How much the blonde still affected her. After all this time.

When Arizona didn't expand further, Callie finally managed to utter, "What?" It felt physically impossible to put together any other words, and she could hear how the word made a quiet squeak in her throat as she tried to form it with her tongue.

She couldn't close her mouth. She couldn't breathe, really.

Arizona licked her lips. She was nervous. She was _terrified_ that this would destroy the "friendly," bearable rapport they'd built with one another over the course of the last two years. But, more than that, she was determined to say the words. Even if Callie didn't agree or respond, she would at least know.

"_You_ are my true love, Callie," Arizona continued. "You are my soulmate, the love of my life, whatever." She shook her head, attempting to find the words. "You are the only person I want to share my life with and build my life with. _Still_. I'm still in love with you, and I don't want anything with anyone but you."

Callie was speechless. Speech. Less. _Speechless_.

"And…I don't know if you could ever want me again – or enough to try again – but I'll never stop wanting you. I think that, even if I find someone else to settle for, I'll always be dreaming of you."

"You…" Callie croaked. "You didn't…Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"You were dating Penny. And it wasn't until you started moving on that I knew."

Quickly, she added, "I just didn't really accept that we were done until you started falling for someone else. And I realized that I don't want us to be done. I want to be with you, and to be true to you, and for us to grow together."

Arizona still loved her. And wanted her. And that was something Callie had never allowed herself to want to hear. Because of course that was what she wanted. More than anything. For her ex-wife to fight the way she hadn't when Callie had walked away. Because so much of the brunette had wished her then-wife would have stopped her from walking out that door, but she hadn't.

It had been as if Arizona had left long before. Not physically, but emotionally.

But it became clear that Arizona wasn't going anywhere now, as she slowly reached for Callie's hand, wrapping their skin around each other.

Callie felt herself jump at the feeling of warm, familiar skin against her own, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from their suddenly clasped hands as Arizona's gently squeezed hers – urging a response of some sort.

"I…" Callie began.

Arizona sucked in a breath, pulling Callie's hand impossibly tighter against her own as she waited for the response that would either fulfill her aching desire or destroy her resolve.

"I want a life with you, Arizona. More than anything in the world."

Arizona's lips lifted into a tentative smile as she read Callie's somewhat indecipherable face. This was good, right? "You do?" she asked before Callie could say anything else.

Her thought process interrupted, Callie paused before nodding and again meeting Arizona's eyes. Because, despite her fears – her _big_ fears – about all of it, about _making_ it, about…everything, she was always still wanting Arizona.

And, god. Arizona still wanted her.

She couldn't allow her fears to outweigh the miracle of it all. "I do," she mouthed, her gaze automatically falling to delicious pink lips. She couldn't help it.

In turn, Arizona's eyes flicked down to plump red lips, and she brought her shaking hand up to cup a caramel cheek. She ran her thumb down the soft skin, reveling in the way Callie's eyes became lidded at the sweet feeling. In a way, it felt refreshingly familiar, but in another, she still felt like she was crossing into space that was no longer hers for the taking.

This fearful line of reasoning came to a halt, however, when Callie dipped her head, brushing their lips and then covering Arizona's mouth with her own.

The kiss was neither innocent nor voracious but a comforting mixture, as adamant lips and mouths re-explored each other.

Callie brought her hand to the back of Arizona's neck, holding her there as the blonde sighed at the sweet taste of her ex-wife.

Between panting breaths, Callie breathed, "Tell me we'll work this time."

"We will," Arizona promised, lifting her face to suck on Callie's full bottom lip. "Tell me neither of us will give up."

"We won't," Callie promised, resting her forehead against Arizona's. "Tell me we'll communicate."

Arizona nodded. "Calliope." She paused. "I've never been more committed to you than I am now. And I've never loved you more."

This time, Callie couldn't help but grin into the kiss. She had wanted to hear those words for so long. Forever.

Arizona stubbornly kept their lips together, refusing to break contact just yet. "Say it," she murmured between kisses. She needed to hear it. She needed reassurance that Callie really was _in_. Once and for all.

Callie pulled away, her hands still reverently clutching porcelain cheeks as she allowed herself a moment to really take in Arizona: her soulmate, her ex-wife, the woman she loved. "I love you. And I want you as much as you want me. I'm so in love with you. And I always will be."

Arizona bit her swollen bottom lip as her eyes welled with unshed tears.

Happy tears.

She was happy. This was happy.

She reached her hand up to grab one of Callie's hands and envelop it in her own, exhaling a content sigh at how perfectly they still fit together.

"Good," she quipped. Then, she grinned slyly. "Because I'm going to spend every moment loving you – even when we're fighting, even when we're yelling, even when we're hating each other – for the rest of my life. You're stuck with me."

Callie couldn't control the euphoric, almost childish, grin from lighting up her face. "I've never been happier being stuck."


	94. Chapter 94

**Okay, but seriously. I'm going to post these silly, unrealistic reconciliation fics until I see it happen. **

**I insist on believing that these positive Calzona vibes shouted into the void help their chances to grow the eff up and be each other's person.**

**So yeah. Written after 12x05. **

* * *

Callie was pissed. She was _irate_.

And she knew that she didn't really have a reason to be, but she was. Because Arizona'd had the _gall_ to tell her that she still loved her and wanted her back.

Which was insane. And ridiculous. And unbearable. And Callie hadn't been able to think about anything else since. Which she didn't want to do. Thinking about Arizona was something she'd spent two years trying not to do.

And she'd been successful. She'd thrown herself into her work, she'd found Penny, and she'd focused on Sofia.

But she and Penny were no longer together, and now…she couldn't stop thinking about Arizona.

And wanting her. Which wasn't good.

She couldn't help but imagine a life with her again. And about how it might be…different this time. Better.

Because Arizona was different. They were _both_ different. They had both grown and – in many ways – they didn't know each other anymore.

And they also did. God, Arizona knew her better than anyone. Still. And that terrified her.

So she was pissed. She was _irate_. Because Arizona still had a hold on her. Even after all this time.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't right.

And, now, when she closed her eyes, all she could see was her ex-wife's smile. And, suddenly, all she could think about was how much she wanted her.

Ugh.

Sofia was at the house with a sitter, and Callie just needed to get home. She would order them some pizza, give Sof a bath, put her to bed, and then sit on the couch with a bottle of wine and cry and mope and reflect.

Reflect on whether giving into Arizona, and into her own feelings, was worth it. Because it could be. Maybe. And maybe not. Because was trying again really worth it? Was potentially failing again worth it? Would it be better to try and maybe fail, or not to try at all and recover entirely sooner?

She walked towards the elevator, reaching down and pressing the button with a sigh. She just needed to get her ex-wife out of her head. She just needed to get it all…everything Arizona had said…out of her head.

The doors opened, and she stood stock-still as she waited for everyone to exit. When she turned back, only Arizona was still inside.

God dammit. Just her luck.

And, just as Callie caught sight of her ex-wife, the blonde's gaze landed on her. She could have sworn she saw Arizona gulp.

It was too late to turn back now, though. So, with trepidation, Callie stepped onto the elevator, her eyes locked with Arizona's.

"Hey," Callie whispered, quickly turning around to face away from her. What was she supposed to say? This was painful. All of it.

And what hurt most was knowing how _painless_ it could all be. It hurt not to be with Arizona – especially now that she knew that Arizona wanted to be with her.

And so she could ameliorate the pain. It would be so easy. Give in. Let love win. Try again.

Anddddd, now she was rhyming. She was insane. The whole thing was making her crazy. She sounded like Dr. Seuss.

"Hey," Arizona murmured in response, trying to swallow the rock lodged in her esophagus. Was Callie never going to address what she said? She knew she should apologize, or take it back, or do something to make the woman she loved less uncomfortable, but she couldn't find it in her to do that.

Because she loved Callie. And she didn't regret putting it out there. No matter how much it hurt that her ex-wife hadn't responded in kind.

After a moment, Arizona breathed, "Calliope…" It was a soft, sad plea. She didn't know what she was asking for. To be acknowledged, maybe. For the elephant in the room to be acknowledged.

But before the word had even finished crossing her lips, Callie's mouth was on hers. And it wasn't gentle. She suddenly found herself shoved against the back wall of the elevator as Callie's body pushed against hers, caramel hands cradling her face to keep her exactly where she wanted her.

As if she needed to. Arizona was more than happy to oblige, a euphonious moan falling from her lips at the taste of the woman she loved. It had been so long.

Callie was bruising her lips, pouring something – anger, almost – into Arizona and drowning her in it as she voraciously kept prodding the blonde's mouth with her tongue – making it painstakingly obvious that she wanted to possess Arizona somehow. To hurt her. To swallow her whole.

Callie was pissed. How dare Arizona say she still loved her. How dare she make Callie still love her. Infinitely. Still.

As she kept their lips locked, Arizona eagerly reciprocating, Callie felt ivory hands come to rest on her hips. She expected the blonde to push her away, but instead, the smaller woman pulled her closer, changing their position so that the Callie's back suddenly hit the adjacent wall.

Her head dipped to wrap her lips around swollen pink ones, and she felt tears prick her eyes as Arizona pushed back – not with force, but with softness.

Arizona insistently slowed their kisses, tracing calming circles over Callie's sides as she attempted to turn her ex-wife's blatant anger into love and her pain into softness.

So much love and softness. Suddenly, it consumed the brunette. It was so sweet and tender that it almost hurt.

Because Callie had ached for this. As much as she hadn't let herself admit it, she had ached for only this.

And, god. So had Arizona.

Finally, they pulled away when they heard the beep indicating they were on the first floor and that the double doors would soon burst open.

Callie leaned back, her eyes never straying from her ex-wife's beautiful, beautiful face.

And, like Arizona, their love was too beautiful to hate. The last two minutes had proven that, once again.

The doors opened, and Arizona had the urge to run, because…what had just happened? And what did it mean? But her eyes were locked with those deep brown orbs that seemed to see through her, and she couldn't move. She wasn't sure she wanted to. "Callie?" she questioned meekly.

Callie exhaled heavily, deciding something. Then, she offered out her hand, palm to the floor.

Arizona looked at it in question. She was going to need words. And lots of them. Because she had told Callie she loved her, and Callie had ignored her. Until now, anyway.

"Come eat pizza with Sof and I," Callie explained, by way of asking Arizona to come home with her. Well, not home so much as to the house she lived in. Because she never felt more at home than when she was with Arizona.

Arizona's eyes widened. Wait. Did this mean…

Callie stepped out of the elevator, her hand still proffered. She licked her lips self-consciously, then attempted a shy smile. "Come on. We'll talk. Please?" She didn't feel like telling Arizona that she was still in love with her, too, in the middle of Grey-Sloan Freakin' Memorial Hospital. But she would say it. Later. She would say it. Because she felt it. Every bone in her body was overcome with love for Arizona.

Biting her lip, Arizona nodded, stepping forward and taking the hand that felt like home to her. As they strolled down the nearly empty hallway, she felt her heart finally slow. Callie had the ability to set fire to her entire being and the power to put it out – keeping her safe and calm. As they walked through the puddled parking lot, she offered, "I like pizza."

Callie grinned, squeezing the hand that seemed to fit perfectly in hers. This felt good. Sooo good. Because Arizona loved her, and she loved Arizona. Loving each other seemed to slow the world down. It made everything clear and calm, as if the universe itself wanted them together. As if they made the universe better just by existing as one.

"I like pizza, too."


	95. Chapter 95

**Calzona reconciliation: Naomi/Sam edition. **

**Written after 12x06.**

* * *

Callie had been planning her presentation to the donors all week. It needed to be perfect.

As it turned out, she needed more funds for her prosthesis project, and that meant somehow convincing a bunch of rich people to donate more money.

Which was going to be hard. Because A) public speaking made her, like, want to die and B) because since she'd cooled things with Penny once and for all, her thoughts had migrated back to Arizona.

And, in the wake of their breakup, Penny had admitted that she had once thought Callie was the love of her life. And Callie had realized that – though she had definitely felt a connection and imagined a life with Penny long-term – she had never even thought to consider Penny "the love of her life."

She only thought of Arizona.

Which was silly. The fact that Callie suddenly…was thinking of her. All of a sudden. After years of not caring. After years of forcing herself not to care.

It was all just…silly. And one-sided. And despicable.

It had been two years. She'd been burned, again and again. They'd burned each other. In her head, she knew that trying again wasn't an option. But in her heart…

Suddenly, she couldn't think about love without thinking of Arizona. And she couldn't think of Arizona without thinking about love.

As the donors began filing into the conference room, taking their seats at the long, rectangular to face Callie, she forced herself to stop thinking.

She had more important things to worry about than her ex-wife.

* * *

So, in the middle of her presentation, Arizona was the furthest thing from her mind. That is, until she caught sight of Arizona behind the glass door and of then the – generally obsessively polite – woman barge into the room.

Callie and all the donors turned to stare at the interruption.

"We need to talk," Arizona vocalized, seeing nothing but Callie.

It was time. To stop hiding. To stop waiting.

She had told herself to hide, to wait, to not fight for Callie because her ex-wife had been happy with Penny. But, as she'd learned minutes before, they were no longer together; they were only friends.

So it was time. To fight. Because she still loved Callie and wanted to spend the rest of her life with her. And she wanted Callie to want the same.

"Arizona," Callie accused. "What are you doing here?" What the hell?

"I'd like to have a conversation with you," Arizona continued fiercely, coming to stand at the opposite end of the long table. "A conversation we probably should have had a long time ago."

Callie felt her stomach dip at the potential implications. What conversation? It could be anything. They should have had a lot of conversations. "I'm in the middle of something, Arizona," she argued meekly, losing her harsh resolve with every word that broke from her ex-wife's lips.

"Why didn't you tell me you and Penny broke up?" Arizona asked. Just like that.

Callie worriedly looked around at her audience's faces. "I am not going to have this conversation w –"

"Why didn't you tell me you and Penny broke up?!" This time, the question was a demand.

"It doesn't matter," Callie fought. Why would it matter to Arizona? Hadn't she moved on long ago? Hadn't she moved on before their marriage had even ended?

Arizona fiercely met her ex-wife's eyes. "It matters," she maintained. Then, she turned to face the pained donors. Talk about awkward. "Could you guys excuse us -" Before she had even finished vocalizing the sentiment, the white collars had scurried out of the room.

Irritated, Callie huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. What the hell was Arizona thinking?

Arizona pursed her lips, suddenly overcome with determination. "I'm not going," she insisted. "I'm staying, and I'm fighting for you. Now, I know I screwed us up and hurt you, and after the crash, I wondered if maybe there was something better, but…" she paused, composing her thoughts. "There isn't anything better."

Callie's eyes shot up to Arizona's face.

"It's you," the blonde continued. "And…you are the best. You're the only woman I've ever really loved. You are my family. You are…the one single person that I can't imagine my world without."

Callie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her ex-wife still wanted her, and loved her, and…she'd loved Callie in the same way that Callie had always loved Arizona.

Then, she shook her head, sighing, "You're saying these things just because you're jealous I finally started moving on, and now you feel left behind. I don't need you to…" she paused. "I need to be happy."

Of course she did. That was all Arizona had ever wanted for her. All she wanted was for Callie to be happy. Now, however, she believed that she was the right person to bring Callie that happiness.

She was healed. She was ready. She was ready to spend the rest of her life making Callie happy, and she hoped her ex-wife would do the same for her. She yearned for it.

"I need to be happy, too," Arizona admitted. She had spent far too long being miserable. Everything was always so complicated.

But her love for Callie was simple. It just _was_.

"So you just came because – " Callie began.

"I'm here because I'm in love with you," Arizona finished truthfully, stepping around the table, mere feet from Callie now. Her voice dipped as she confessed, "I've always been in love with you."

She met Callie's wide, endlessly giving brown eyes. "I. Will Always…Love _you_," she emphasized. And then she prayed for Callie to believe her. She wasn't someone who prayed, but she prayed that Callie would see her and somehow agree.

Her eyes brimming with tears, Callie replied, "I recently realized you were the love of my life."

Arizona bit her lip, understanding the implication. _Were_. Past tense.

Callie reached out for her hand, a gentle smile teasing her features. "You still are."

At that, Arizona felt her stomach dip and her heart speed up in a way that was both unwelcome and completely familiar. After all, this was _Callie_. She was the one person who could make the blonde feel _everything_, but she hadn't in so long.

They kissed, and they didn't care about the people outside the room who saw it all.

They kissed, even knowing that being together wouldn't be easy. It would be worth it, though, because choosing each other _was_.

And – so long as they each chose each other, and chose to love each other – again and again – forever – they would be the happiest two people who had ever seen the sun.

They kissed, choosing each other once and for all.

And, this time, it was nothing like the first time. It was better. Because it was the last time.

They chose each other. They chose to love one another. Endlessly. Forever.


	96. Chapter 96

**A quick, totally AU moment. Written after 12x06.**

* * *

"You ended things with Penny."

Callie eyes shot up from her purse and she turned to look at her ex-wife. "What?" Who'd told her that?

"I know what you're doing," Arizona expanded. "We've been here before." She offered a brief kind smile.

Callie sighed. Arizona knew her. Arizona _knew_ her. It was no use denying it. "Yeah, I did. But Mer still can't stand her, and…" she shook her head. "Penny's education shouldn't suffer because of her."

"So you're letting Meredith hate you, instead?" Arizona, in part, was incredulous. But, also, she understood. This was Callie after all. She cared like crazy.

Callie shrugged. "For now."

Arizona nodded, maintaining silent eye contact for an extended moment. "You're always protecting everyone. Looking out for them."

Callie broke her gaze, feeling a little self-conscious. Arizona had always been able to read her like a picture book. When she brought her eyes back up to Arizona's, she caught bright blue eyes perusing her features.

Arizona seemed lost in thought momentarily, then nodded abruptly, as if coming to terms with something. Then, she admitted, "I'm looking out for you."


	97. Chapter 97

**Calzona Reconciliation: Scandal Edition.**

**Disclaimer: I do not watch Scandal, and after watching this scene, decided that Olivia and Fitz have a strange co-dependent relationship. And I hope that Calzona getting back together is waaaay different from this. I do not like this.**

**But! I did spend time writing it. And it may still act to entertain you. So, uploading anyway.**

* * *

As soon as the surgery ended, Callie rushed into the scrub room. She needed to get out of there. She needed to think about what the hell had just happened.

Because she could have sworn that Arizona had been flirting with her. Shamelessly. In the middle of a freakin' surgery.

And that was just crazy. So she needed space and time to prove to herself that that definitely wasn't what had just happened.

But she had only been scrubbing out for a minute before Arizona flew through the glass door, her eyes intently searing holes into her ex-wife's skin.

She didn't know what she'd been thinking. Trying to flirt with Callie as if they were still somehow okay. As if they still meant something. As if she still meant something to Callie.

All she knew was that – now that she knew that she did, in fact, still love Callie, in a real, big, dream-about-her, smile-at-the-thought-of-her kind of way – she needed to tell her.

She needed Callie to know. Arizona found her miraculous, and she needed Callie to know.

When Arizona made no move to move or leave, Callie regretfully turned off the faucet and turned to face her, feeling a nervous ache settle in her stomach. "What were you doing in there?" She tried to keep her voice sharp, demanding an answer.

Arizona pursed her lips. How did Callie's intent stare still manage to make her so nervous? "What do you think I was doing?" she countered.

Callie rolled her eyes, groaning in exasperation. "I don't know! Entertaining yourself? I mean, what _was_ that? We've been divorced for two years. We've moved on. Why were you _flirting_?"

Arizona widened her eyes. "Callie," she began. "How could I move on?" The concept was foreign to her. She couldn't move on. She'd tried, but she couldn't. How could she move past her true love? There was no moving on from Callie. There was only Callie.

At that, the brunette's eyebrows furrowed. What was Arizona saying? Then, she surrendered, "Look, we meant a lot to each other once, and –"

"No. No!" Arizona interrupted sharply, making Callie jump. "Don't do that. Don't belittle us, Callie!" What had she meant, that they "_meant a lot to each other once_"?

Was that it?

Oh, we "_meant a lot to each other once_." No. How dare she. That didn't even begin to describe their love.

Callie felt her eyes bulging with every word that flew from her ex-wife's angry lips.

"You don't get to do that," Arizona continued. "You don't get to try to drive me away by making us out to be nothing. We're something, and I'm not going away."

"Arizona…" Callie pleaded. She knew what was coming. And she couldn't bear it. She couldn't have Arizona fill her with beautiful words again. She couldn't let her heart be filled with Arizona again.

Not after she'd had so long to heal. Not after she'd…healed.

Her life was simple now. It was easy. She had work, she had friends, she had Sofia, and it was easy. A little monotonous, maybe. A little lonely on long nights.

But she was happy.

Mostly.

Arizona sighed as hopeful blue eyes bored into brown. She could feel her resolve slipping. She was determined to tell Callie everything. To bear her heart and soul. But it was that much harder if Callie wasn't willing to listen.

Finally, Callie corrected herself. "Fine. We _more than_ meant a lot to each other." She shook her head, the reality almost unfathomable to her. "God, my whole life was you, Arizona. I loved you more than I ever thought possible. More than myself."

"And now you don't?" Arizona pressed.

"I can't!" Callie shouted, beginning to anxiously pace in the small space. "I…can't let you control me! We're divorced, and still, sometimes I find myself waiting for you. Watching for you. Like…like you still control me. Like I still belong to you!"

Arizona felt herself shudder at the implication. That she wasn't completely alone in this. That she wasn't the only one who still had trouble. A lot of trouble.

Callie came to stand in front of Arizona, her presence and sheer height overpowering as she seethed, "You don't get to flirt with me! Because you still have a hold on me, and I can't –"

"You still have a hold on _me_!" Arizona fought back. And, suddenly, she was fuming. How dare Callie make what was supposed to be a loving speech into something angry. How dare Callie get into her face this way. How dare she accuse her of something out of her control. "You control _me_! And I do belong to you! Still! Because I love you. I'm in love with you. You're the love of my life and always will be. God, Callie," she threw her hands over her eyes, shaking her head. "It's been two years, and I can't breathe without you. I can't sleep without you. I wait for _you_. I watch for _you_. I belong to _you_." She ran her fingers through her hair, exasperated. She loved Callie with all of her, but the woman managed to make her hideous, sometimes. And weak. And scared. And lost. She made her feel it all.

Calming herself, she continued, "I flirted with you because you and I were everything to each other. And you're still everything to me. You are still the only thing I see. So don't you dare say we 'meant a lot to each other.' We loved each other with everything. And I love you with everything now. We both still care, and we're in this together."

"We're in _what_ together?" Callie croaked. In the last few minutes, they had bared their souls. But where did that leave them?

"In love," Arizona clarified softly, feeling a calmness flow through her at the honest words.

She was in love with Callie. And she saw that, maybe, Callie was a little in love with her, too.

Callie's breath caught at the words. _In love_. It was only in that moment that she realized, wow, yeah. She was still in love with Arizona.

"I'm in love with you, Calliope," Arizona breathed. "And, while we've changed and grown, so has my love for you. For the better. And I want the chance to prove it to you. _That's_ why I was flirting. Because I meant it."

"What are you saying?" Callie asked, her voice barely audible. She wasn't sure what Arizona was suggesting, but she found that she would happily agree to anything. To more of Arizona. In any way, shape, or form.

Arizona made her want to scream, sometimes, but Callie wanted her still. Her ex-wife also made her feel calm like nothing and no one else.

"I'm saying I'm going to spend every moment loving you from now on. I'm yours, and I want you to be mine. But even if you're not – even if you're not ready for a long time – I'll be here, loving you. And you and I are going to have lunch tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that."

Callie narrowed her eyes. "And then what? We just fall back…into each other?" It sounded so simple. She wondered if it could be. She hoped so.

Arizona shrugged easily. The way she saw it, she and Callie were meant to be together, and it was only a matter of time before they could relearn one another and trust each other again, entirely. "It's inevitable, don't you think? You and I?"

Callie nodded, a simple smile teasing her lips. "Yeah," she breathed. "We are."


	98. Chapter 98

**Another Calzona Reconciliation. I borrowed immensely from an Olifitz scene.**

**Disclaimer: I know I could've made this a lot better, but like, I'm lazy. And have a midterm tomorrow. So shh! I'm sorry! Thanks for reading anyway!**

* * *

Flames. They were all Callie could see. Flames. All around her. Everywhere.

Two minutes before, she had been innocently, _ignorantly_ sleeping in an empty on call room.

Then, she had woken up to her blaring pager and to the smell of smoke.

Now, the hideous fire alarm began to sound, and she ripped open the door to see what was happening.

Smoke. Flames. People running. Patients screaming in fear, unable to move from their beds on account of recent orthopedic surgery.

She was suddenly catapulted into action. She needed to get people out of there. _She_ needed to get out of there.

She whipped out her phone as she raced to the nearest patient's bedside.

She needed to call 9-1-1 and alert the firefighters that there were still people on the fourth floor. Just…

Just in case. Just in case they couldn't find their way outside before the flames spread further.

Just in case they – and she – didn't make it out.

* * *

Arizona was getting a snack in the hospital cafeteria when she heard it. The scream. The panic.

The grease fire that was spreading impossibly fast.

"Fire!" someone yelled. "Fire!"

A few people ran to help stop the flames.

Everyone else ran for the doors. Chaos.

Arizona stayed to help, but it was spreading and spreading fast. She paged Bailey. She ran downstairs for Sofia. She wanted to get her daughter outside. Just in case.

* * *

It turned out to be a good decision, because soon, the fire had spread. Everywhere. And – little by little – patients and doctors were being evacuated as half a dozen fire trucks sped towards the monstrous, smoky orange building, prepared to fight the fire.

Leaving Sofia in the care of her daycare teachers, Arizona rushed through the crowds of people, searching for the one other person she needed to know was safe.

Callie.

Only the week before, she had finally worked up the courage to tell her ex-wife what she had discovered: that she didn't want to move on, that she couldn't move on, that she still wanted to love only her, and her alone.

And the response she'd received had been more devastating than she ever could have imagined. Because, at worst, she'd figured that Callie no longer felt the same. Callie'd moved on, she'd dated other people, and she'd realized that, indeed, she still wanted to see what else was out there.

She figured that, at worst, Callie would have said "I'm done. I don't love you anymore."

Which would have killed Arizona. But her ex-wife's actual response had more than killed her: the words buried her alive in a moldy coffin, under ten feet of sleet and snow.

Arizona still remembered the conversation perfectly. It haunted her in her sleep and in wakefulness.

* * *

"_So I'm fighting for you," she'd insisted. "I love you, Calliope, and I don't want to move on. I don't want to find love again when I'm eighty-five. I want it right now. With my true love. With you."_

Even now, she could hear Callie's sharp intake of breath in her ears. In her head, she could see her ex-wife's bulging brown eyes.

"_I'm still in love with you," she'd added, blathering on. "I'm still…consumed with love for you. And all I want is to be with you."_

Even now, she could hear Callie's rampant heartbeat. _"Arizona…" she had pleaded._

"Callie_," Arizona had countered, her voice filled with longing and vulnerability. "I know you might not feel the same, I know you might be done, but –"_

"_Of course I feel the same!" Callie had exclaimed. "Of course. I feel. The same. I love you, I've always loved you!"_

_Her eyes wide, Arizona had nodded carefully, alarmed by the sudden outburst. "Good –"_

"_No," Callie had argued. "Not good. Arizona," she breathed. "If love were enough, we'd never have divorced in the first place. We loved each other, and we'll always love each other, but…We have different priorities. We won't work. We can't work."_

* * *

And then Arizona had argued. With desperation, she'd argued. But Callie couldn't hear. She had only shaken her head. She had come to a decision.

That they couldn't make it. That they weren't worth another shot. That love wasn't enough.

And that had been the last time they'd spoken. And, now, there was a _fire_ in the hospital, and Callie was nowhere to be found.

"Arizona! Arizona!" she heard from behind her, as she began to make her way towards an idle firefighter. "Arizona!"

Quickly, April was beside her. "Are you okay? Do you know what happened?"

"Grease fire," Arizona explained, not even really seeing her best friend. She was focused on only one thing. "Have you seen Callie?"

April shook her head. "I haven't seen her. I had a surgery with her earlier, and she said she was going to go take a nap."

"In Ortho?" Arizona pressed. Was Callie on the fourth floor? Still? How the hell was she going to get out?

She rushed up to the fireman, April trailing worriedly behind her, and asked, "Have you evacuated the fourth floor yet?!"

The man looked up at her and shook his head. "No, ma'am. We're going floor by floor so that the people underneath don't get crushed in case the building goes down."

Arizona's eyes widened. "So there are still people in there?"

With furrowed brows, the man nodded. "A lot of people."

And Arizona couldn't breathe. Callie was _in there_. She had to be. Arizona was outside, and Callie was in a burning building.

It was incomprehensible. It was impossible. It was unbearable.

"Arizona –" April began, getting an idea of her best friend's stupid, idiotic plan.

"I have to get in there," Arizona whispered. Turning back to the distracted firefighter, she yelled over the noise, "Evacuate the fourth floor as soon as you can, okay? I'm a surgeon and a mother and do not want to die."

And before he could stop her, before April could stop her, before _anyone_ could stop her, Arizona raced back into the hazy building, covering her nose and mouth with her scrub top as she headed for the stairs. She raced up four flights, tripping twice as her prosthesis attempted in vain to keep up with her desperation. She could feel the adrenaline pounding through her. She felt its heat oozing from every pore, every gland, keeping her moving.

Callie. Callie was in a burning building.

And Arizona was not going to let her die.

She opened the door of the fire escape on the fourth floor, and instantly noted that the hallway was shrouded by a thick, intoxicating smoke. It burned her eyes, her nose, and her throat. How had the smoke and fire spread so quickly?

"CALLIE!" she called, making her way deeper onto the floor. "CALLIE!"

Callie was ripping the blankets off a patient, desperate to get the young man into a wheelchair to help get him out of there when she thought she heard a voice. A familiar voice. A voice she loved and yearned for.

But that was crazy. Right? Insufficient oxygen. It was making her crazy.

"Callie!" she heard again.

Her head shot up. "ARIZONA?"

Arizona careened down the hallway, following her ex-wife's voice. She was here. She was alive.

She raced into the nearest patient's room, and there she was. Through the smoke, Arizona saw her. And she was beautiful.

"You're okay," Arizona breathed. She was alive.

"What are you doing here?" Callie accused. "Where's Sofia?"

"She's safe," Arizona soothed. "But I needed to find you." Her eyes locked with Callie's for a silent, weighted moment.

Arizona was _here_. Arizona had, what? Raced into a burning building to come find her? The mere thought was incomprehensible. What had she been thinking?

Noticing her ex-wife's frozen features, Arizona interrupted her thoughts, asking, "What can I do to help? Are there still people up here?"

Callie nodded. "I sent everyone who could walk down the fire escape. Hopefully they got out safely. But Todd, here, and everyone who've had hip or leg surgeries…I don't know what to do. How to get them out."

Arizona gulped. She didn't either. "Do you think they can help each other down the stairs?" she asked honestly. "It'll hurt, but…"

Callie nodded seriously. "It's worth a shot, I guess." She turned around, grabbing a pair of crutches from a few feet away. "Todd, can you stand?" Carefully, she helped him onto the crutches as Arizona continued to stare at her, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

"You should go," Callie stated, refusing to look up. "I can help everyone on my own."

At that, Arizona violently shook her head. No way. "_You_ should go," she argued as Todd walked past her and into the smoky hallway. "I can help them."

Callie walked towards her, eyes pleading. "_Arizona_," she pleaded. "_Please_. In case something happens…In case the hospital crumbles or explodes, we can't leave Sofia an orphan. Go."

Arizona shook her head again. Decisive. "I'm not going anywhere without you. And if you're determined to help your patients outside, then I'll help you."

At that point, Callie realized that arguing was futile. Instead, they would have to work quickly. Because she did not want to die, and god. She really didn't want Arizona to die. "Fine," she surrendered. "Help me with the other patients."

Together, they got the patients out of bed, got them all on crutches to help walk, and got them all buddies so that they could head down the stairs together.

"Hopefully the fire hasn't spread to the stairs," Callie commented fearfully as she watched two patients suffer in excruciating pain as they headed down the first stair of one-hundred-and-twenty-eight.

The smoke burned her lungs, and eyes, and nose as she headed for the opposite hallway, wanting to make sure she hadn't missed anyone. She heard fast-paced footsteps beside her as Arizona determinedly followed after her.

"I've seriously got this," Callie called over her shoulder. "Please just go. I'll see you down there."

"I'm not going." Arizona crossed her arms over her chest. "I am not going to let you be the hero. I am not going to let you die. I'm staying to make sure it doesn't happen."

"We could both die!" Callie threw up her hands in desperation.

"Callie, _I love you_," Arizona countered harshly. "I know you say that we have different priorities, but—"

"We do!" Callie insisted. "We've always chosen different things! I wanted you, and you wanted Africa! I wanted to grow our family, and you didn't! I –"

"I want you to stay alive, and you want me to stay alive!" Arizona interrupted. That's where they were at, after all. Each woman wanted the other to leave. To flee. To seek safety outside. And they were both too damn stubborn to go. "It doesn't seem like our choices are so different anymore."

"They are!" Callie sputtered out irrationally. Even she knew that her argument held little power. Arizona was right. She knew she was right. They had both changed, and grown, and – maybe, just maybe – they could grow together if they gave it a shot.

But she was scared. She was so, so, _so_ scared. To try again. To fail again. To feel that pain of losing the person she loved most. Again.

So she was fighting against the woman she loved. The woman she really, really, truly loved. In the midst of a disaster.

She was a fucking coward.

Feeling blue eyes watching her, unblinking, Callie had to turn away and ducked into another patient's room. The middle-aged woman was asleep in bed. How was she sleeping through all this?

She quickly picked up the chart. Pam Chandler. "Mrs. Chandler?" she questioned softly.

Feeling Arizona's warmth behind her – so close but not quite touching – Callie leapt forward, heading for the hospital bed. "Mrs. Chandler?" she asked again. "Pam?" she rubbed her shoulder.

Nothing.

"Check her pulse," Arizona whispered. It didn't look good.

Callie brought two shaky fingers to the woman's carotid. The chart had said she'd gotten a standard knee replacement. She couldn't be dead.

"Anything?" the blonde questioned.

Callie shook her head. "She's gone."

A sad, sympathetic sigh passed through the blonde's lips. Callie hated death.

She knew that everyone hated it. Especially doctors. But Callie hated it more than anyone.

"I'm sorry."

Callie shook her head. She had more to worry about right now. They needed to get out before they died, too. "It's fine. Let's go."

Arizona quickly nodded and, side by side, they headed for the fire escape stairs once again. It took all the strength Arizona had not to reach out for Callie's hand. She ached for her ex-wife's skin so badly that it physically _hurt_.

But she held back, because Callie was determined to fight their love. Even if it meant that they were both miserable.

Callie pushed open the door and, instantly, thick black smoke flooded their senses. They erupted in coughing fits as they felt tears fall from their irritated watery eyes.

"We can't go down there," Arizona stated a fact they both knew. "The fire's spread."

"I know," Callie murmured hopelessly. What other way out was there? There was no other way.

"It'll be fine," Arizona argued hopefully. "We'll find another way out."

"There's no other way out!" Callie exploded. "We need – I need –" she could feel herself working herself into a panic attack. She already was lacking oxygen, and…

"Callie!" Arizona exclaimed, noticing her ex-wife's suddenly panicked demeanor. She reached out and grabbed her hand, cradling it between each of her own. "We are not going to die today. Okay? We will find a way."

She'd told the paramedic where she would be. She hoped it would help. She couldn't die. She couldn't.

And she couldn't let the woman she loved die, either.

With Callie ghosting behind her, Arizona headed for the nearest patient's room, rushing towards the window to look at the ground below. If they couldn't get out through the stairs or elevators, they would have to jump, right? And there would be paramedics and firefighters waiting with life nets somewhere, right?

"What are you doing?" Callie huffed.

"We're going to jump," Arizona explained, heading for the next room. There had to be lifenets, right?! How else would they get out?!

"WHAT?" Callie screeched. "We can't!"

Heading for the fifth room, Arizona smiled when she saw that the window was large enough for them to both fit through. That was a good sign. She looked beneath her and, yep, there were dozens of professionals beneath them, holding up life nets in order for them to land safely.

"There they are!" she heard one call. "Jump!"

Callie, who had walked up behind her, followed Arizona's eyes to the sight over one hundred feet beneath them. "No way," she hyperventilated. "No. Way."

"It'll be fine," Arizona promised.

Callie shook her head. There were two things in life that terrified her: public speaking and heights.

And heights were exponentially worse. Jumping from heights could cause death. Public speaking didn't.

"Callie," Arizona pleaded.

Callie shut her eyes tightly. She couldn't even look down. Too high. No way. "I can't, Arizona," she cried. "You jump."

"No," Arizona argued. "Not without you."

"ARIZONA!" Callie begged. What was wrong with her ex? If Arizona didn't jump, then they would _both_ die there. Why couldn't she just listen to her for once?

"I told you," Arizona repeated patiently. "I love you. I choose you. And I'm not leaving you."

Callie groaned, bringing her hands up to cover her face.

Arizona reached up and forcefully pulled Callie's hands off her eyes, forcing her ex-wife to look at her. "You said we don't choose the same things. You think I never choose you. But I do. I do now. I choose you, and I think you don't believe me."

"I believe you," Callie argued desperately. She just wanted Arizona to jump. She just wanted her to live. She would follow after her. She would jump…eventually. Before the building collapsed. Once she built up the nerve.

Arizona shook her head, knowing the truth. "I think you believe that I will never choose you. Because I left for Africa. Because I treated you _awfully_. Because I cheated."

Callie cringed at the words. Even after all this time, it still hurt.

"So this time, I'm fixing things," Arizona continued. "If you won't jump, then you and I are just going to stand here until the clock runs out."

"Don't," Callie pleaded.

"If you won't jump, then we're just going to stand here. You're going to stand here with me and _watch_ me choose you."

"_Sofia_," Callie reminded her. She couldn't make any other words. Not with Arizona there, voice raspy and invading her senses, insisting that she was choosing her.

She didn't realize how much she ached for this until that moment. For her ex-wife to prove her love.

But this proved it. Arizona was willing to die with her. For her. If that was what it took.

"Callie, if you won't jump, then we are going to stand here until it's too late." Secretly, Arizona knew that Callie would face her fears. She wouldn't let them both die.

But she had to prove to her ex-wife – once and for all – that she loved her. That she was committed to her. Infinitely. Entirely.

When Callie still made no move to step towards the window, Arizona repeated, "You're going to watch me make you my priority. You're going to watch me choose you." She had to prove how serious she was. She _was_ serious.

Callie shook her head in disbelief. Arizona wasn't crazy. She wasn't suicidal. "You wouldn't." She wouldn't. Right? She couldn't.

"I would," Arizona insisted, her tone terrifyingly serious and determined. "I will. I'm going to."

Callie shut her eyes tight. This was crazy. She needed to jump. She needed to stop being scared. Of heights. Of love. Of everything.

Arizona brought a hand that smelled like smoke up to Callie's face, caressing the soft skin beneath her fingertips and willing her ex-wife to open her eyes. Once she did, blue bored deeply into watery brown. "If you won't jump, watch me choose you," she insisted. "Watch me _earn_ you."

She looked deeply into Callie's eyes, attempting to pour all the love she had for her ex-wife into her words. She loved Callie. She chose Callie. And she was willing to do whatever it took to prove it.

After a long moment of silent eye contact, Callie inhaled a long, calming breath, exhaling the truest words she'd ever breathed. "I choose _you_."

Arizona's eyes widened in surprise.

She brought her hands up to cup Arizona's cheeks, bringing her own face down to leave a whisper of a kiss on her lips. A prologue to the novel she would write against the glorious warm mouth once they finally reached safety. Their lips met for only a second, but Callie poured all her love into Arizona. And there was so much of it.

She pulled away, reveling in the shock she saw etched across gorgeous milky features. "I choose you, too. And you don't have to prove anything. We'll jump together." She could do this.

_They_ could do this.

Pursing her lips, Arizona nodded quickly, opening the window more widely so that they could both step through.

Callie clutched Arizona's hand with all the strength she had, and the blonde comfortingly squeezed it.

"On the count of three," Arizona whispered.

Callie nodded. She felt butterflies rampant in her stomach.

"One," they breathed.

"Two." They felt their hearts exploding in their chests.

"Three." They look one last breath.

And then they took a leap of faith. They faced their fears. Together.

* * *

**Reviews are always immensely appreciated. :) Seriously, y'all. It takes three seconds. Writing this took three hours. Heh.**


	99. Chapter 99

**Something cute. Set way in the future. Written after 12x07.**

* * *

Blinking through the darkness in her blackened bedroom, Callie sleepily took in her surroundings, confused as to what had woken her up at three in the morning.

Reveling in the warm, soft sheets and duvet that surrounded her, she listened for Sofia's cries. Nothing.

She sniffed. Could there be a fire nearby?

Nope. Nothing.

She turned to her right, and there – god, Callie still wasn't used to her – was the most beautiful woman in the world. Looking like an angel, her face illuminated by the low light of the moon that slid through the blinds.

Of course. Callie had woken up because she was cold. She and Arizona each must have rolled over in their sleep, losing the blissful physical contact and warmth of each other.

Ever so gently, she lifted her hand to reverently run her fingers through feathery blonde hair.

Arizona stirred, whimpering at the contact, even in sleep. Callie's lips turned up into in an adoring smile.

Her ex-wife, best friend, love of her life, _whatever_ – was the most adorable woman on earth. Callie was sure of it.

She brought her hand down, slowly running it over a warm, porcelain arm and feeling the goosebumps that suddenly lined white skin at the touch.

Arizona shifted, her eyes slowly fluttering open to catch Callie guiltily watching her, unblinking.

"What are you doing awake?" Arizona accused, her voice soft and gravely with sleep.

Callie smiled shyly, ducking her head to chastely kiss a soft cheek. "I woke up to you all the way over there," she pouted. "You're not close enough."

The truth was, since they had reconciled _for good_ several weeks before, Callie felt like she could never get close enough to Arizona. Sometimes, she just had the urge to hold her forever. It made her feel safest. It made her feel most at home.

It made her feel good. Really, really good.

And she expected the blonde to groan or roll her eyes at how cheesy she sounded, but Arizona didn't. Instead, she only smiled in a way that made Callie feel warm inside, then she flipped onto her other side and scooted back towards the taller woman.

Thankful, Callie quickly surged forward, effectively closing the space between them completely as she wrapped a protective arm around Arizona. She sighed contently as the smaller woman eagerly intertwined their fingers, searching for maximum contact.

"Better?" Arizona asked sleepily, once again closing her eyes in sated relaxation. She had always loved sleeping in Callie's arms. But she appreciated it even more now, after longing for her ex-wife for so long.

She heard the pillowcase ruffle as Callie nodded against it and felt a shudder run through her as the brunette affirmed, "Better," breathing the word against the nape of her neck.

"Me, too," Arizona hummed, pulling their bodies impossibly closer. "_Much_." She had no words for how good it felt. Being like this again. She wasn't sure she could explain it. She wasn't sure Callie would even understand. How deeply Arizona had yearned for her body and soul. How much her entire self just belonged with Callie.

Callie chuckled lightly against blonde hair, inhaling its sweet smell that was so unique to Arizona. This was happiest. The sweetest, simplest happiness. "I love you," she whispered. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Arizona murmured softly, bringing Callie's hand up to her lips to place a light kiss against her skin. "I love you, too."


	100. Chapter 100

**Hi. Set in the future, once Calzona are back together.**

**Written after 12x07.**

* * *

"Hey," Callie smiled as she walked into the kitchen, spotting Arizona on the couch in the living room a few yards away.

Coffee mug in hand, Arizona smiled at her wife. "Good morning. You sleep okay?"

Callie nodded, slipping two slices of whole grain toast into the toaster. "Yeah. I was a little cold this morning, though," she winked. She hated waking up alone.

Arizona laughed, but they both knew that it sounded a little strained. They both had the same day off which, most days, would have been reason for celebration. But that day wasn't any normal day.

It was the anniversary of Mark's death. And, no matter how many years passed, it never seemed to get any easier.

After Callie slathered raspberry jam onto her toast, she walked towards the couch, breakfast and coffee in hand. It was already after nine, so Arizona had already taken Sofia to preschool. It was just the two of them and the wet rain outside for the rest of the day.

"How are you?" Callie asked carefully, situating herself near Arizona but not quite crossing into her space - not sure whether or not she was welcome.

Arizona swallowed hard and pursed her lips. "Thinking about him. You?"

Callie nodded, working to maintain steady, meaningful eye contact with her wife. "Yeah. Missing him."

Arizona's lips turned up in a sad, close-lipped smile. She understood. "Thinking about all of it," she added absentmindedly, but it made Callie's ears turn up even as she took a bite of toast.

With furrowed brows, she questioned, "About the crash?"

Slowly, Arizona nodded. On rainy, lazy days like the one she was currently experiencing, her thoughts often wandered back to those unbearable days in the forest, and she couldn't help but feel melancholy. It was worst that day, though. Thinking of Mark, too.

Callie couldn't help but reach out and tuck a stray lock of blonde hair behind Arizona's ear. She hated how hard this day still was for them both, even half a decade later. And, even more, she hated how much the plane crash still managed to haunt her wife on some days, even after so long.

"I wish I understood better," Callie admitted regretfully. "I wish I knew and could take a little of your pain away."

Arizona shrugged, waving the seriousness off. "You know it's not a problem most of the time. Just today." And that was the truth. She had recovered from the plane crash, from the PTSD, from the resentment. From all of it. But those four days were still ingrained in her brain, and on the anniversary of Mark's death, she couldn't help but remember everything.

Callie was silent for a moment, just watching Arizona as if she was silently deciding something.

And she was. She was deciding whether to make a request she'd often had in the year after the plane crash. One that Arizona always shut down in the past, either because it hurt too much or because she wanted to protect Callie.

But things had changed since then. And Callie figured that, if ever, today would be different.

"Would you tell me?" she finally asked softly.

Arizona knit her eyebrows together, not understanding.

"About those four days," Callie clarified carefully. "About what they were like. For you."

Arizona felt tears sting her eyes at the thought alone, but she fought to hold them back. It was a fair question for Callie to ask. And, after so long, the blonde knew that her wife indeed deserved an answer. Callie knew the details would be unbearable to hear, but still, she wanted to know about Arizona's pain. She wanted to share that pain. She wanted to ameliorate it, maybe. Because everyone knew that it all hurt less once you say it out loud. It all hurt less when someone could be sad for you. With you.

"Are you sure?" Arizona whispered, giving Callie one last chance to back out, even knowing she wouldn't take it.

In response, Callie set her plate on the coffee table and inched towards the blonde, settling into a listening position. "Positive."

Searching Callie's face for any hint of uncertainty but finding nothing but love and curiosity reflected back at her, Arizona nodded in resignation. Determinedly, she began, "I've always hated planes."

Callie knew that. Arizona had confessed the fact early in their relationship, when they were first getting to know each other. She knew that her wife had always felt much closer to death in a plane.

"And I guess I had a reason to," Arizona attempted to joke, the weak smile falling from her face as she caught Callie narrow her eyes in worry. Sighing she continued, "I don't remember the crash itself, other than the chaos. And then the screaming." She rolled her eyes. "Cristina once told me that she still hears my screams in her nightmares."

Callie tightly shut her eyes, suddenly overcome with painful images of the woman she loved screaming in excruciating pain. It was hard to even consider, much less live.

But, soon, she felt a warm hand in hers and a reassuring squeeze. How ironic was it that Arizona was comforting _her_? Shouldn't it have been the other way around?

Still, Callie opened her eyes and was met with Arizona's worried cerulean blues searching her face.

"You can stop me at any time," the blonde whispered softly.

Callie gulped but shook her head. She squeezed Arizona's hand back and urged, "I want to hear everything you're willing to tell me."

After a moment, Arizona nodded in understanding, taking a calming breath. "Meredith, Cristina, and Mark had gone in search of Lexie and Derek, so I managed to sit up on my own. And I remember ripping open my scrubs and staring at muscle and bone."

"_God_," Callie breathed. Hearing what Arizona had gone through was unbearable, but still. She was grateful for the chance to know, after so many years of wondering.

Then, a sarcastic little smile crossed Arizona's features as she admitted, "And then I started laughing."

"What? _Why_?" Callie was appalled.

Arizona rolled her eyes at herself. In retrospect, it wasn't funny. It was the furthest thing from funny. But – in her defense – she had been in severe shock. "I told Jerry it was ironic. I was married to you, an orthopedic surgeon, and I was staring at my bone."

Callie's eyes widened in shock, and Arizona smiled at her appalled expression. "It would be funny if it weren't so wrong. Right?"

Callie balked. "You have a morbid sense of humor."

Arizona shrugged, sobering up. "It was a morbid reality."

_Morbid_. Pertaining to death and diseased parts. Arizona was right. The plane crash had most certainly been that.

"Right," Callie breathed. She looked down, staring gratefully at their intertwined hands, thinking only about how grateful she was that Arizona had _lived_. And that, after their split, they had found each other again and learned to make each other happy again.

And that they could be like this: loving and supporting each other. Trusting each other with all their hearts.

Callie brought her other hand to Arizona's arm, her fingers tracing soft, soothing patterns on porcelain skin as she patiently waited for her wife to continue.

"It hurt most when I splinted it," Arizona confessed.

Callie's eyes shot up to her face. "You splinted it? _Yourself_?"

Biting her bottom lip, Arizona nodded.

Callie took in a sharp intake of breath. It was unimaginable. The pain she must have endured. The self-inflicted pain. How had it come down to Arizona having to _splint_ _her_ _own_ _leg_?

"Lexie was dying and Jerry needed c-spine!" Arizona defended. It was true. Her coworkers had other places they needed to be. She was a good man in the storm. She always had been. She had been able to take care of herself.

"Arizona…" Callie began. She couldn't stomach it. The woman she loved had gone through so much more than she had ever even imagined.

Arizona shook her head, determined to continue. "I don't remember much else. Everything hurt. We were hungry. I don't even know whose pee I drank. I couldn't move. Cristina thought I might have a pulmonary embolism. I knew I was in hypovolemic shock…" she paused, thinking back.

Stunned into silence, Callie only continued ghosting her fingers along smooth skin, letting Arizona know that she was there and listening.

"Meredith debrided my leg with the little water we had, and I remember passing out." At that point, she was recounting the story clinically. It was easier just to state the facts. Nothing more.

"_God_," Callie whispered, her voice haunted.

Arizona looked up and smiled weakly at Callie. "It's fine, now, Callie," she reassured her. "I barely even remember any of it."

Callie released a tremulous sigh. It wasn't fine. Nothing about what Arizona had experienced – what they'd both lost – was fine. "You had a nightmare the other night," she reminded the blonde.

"Yeah," Arizona conceded. It was true. But it had only been because of the awful, awful case she'd had that day. At this point, it was nothing more than a stress response. So, still, she maintained, "But it's fine. Really."

Callie knew better than to argue further. "Okay, so you were in hypovolemic shock."

"Right," Arizona remembered. "And then the hours just kept ticking by. Cristina wouldn't let us sleep. Meredith kept crying. And Mark kept dying on me. Literally, dying. On me. His head was helping to put pressure on my leg, while I was making sure he kept breathing. I told him we needed him, and he insisted that we would be fine. That you and Sofia had me, and…" she inhaled a thick breath, unable to expand any further.

And Callie watched in silence as Arizona got to the edge of her resolve and quietly fell apart: blinking away a lone tear. She wasn't crying, or sobbing, or screaming, or pushing Callie away; she wasn't in hysterics but instead silently folding into herself, as if punched in the gut. She was quiet as she digested her own words. Her own past experience.

She still mourned the event that had taken so much from her, and she still mourned Mark – a man who came to act as a sort of foster brother to her. She ached, eyes closed, as she internally crumpled.

And Callie watched. She watched the stoic, independent woman she loved refuse to break down. And the brunette knew that – in part – it was for her benefit. Arizona didn't want Callie to worry. She didn't want Callie to think that she was anything but fine, even though the day's date was taking an equal – if not bigger – toll on Arizona.

She was holding strong. Sitting up straight. Stiffening her upper lip. Closing her eyes and searching for inner strength.

But collapsing internally. Callie knew her. She knew _her_. And she could see it.

As she stared at the woman she loved suffering in silent agony, she felt her stomach clench. Then at last, three honest words managed to prance off her lips. "You're _so_ strong."

She didn't know what to say and how to be the person Arizona needed in that moment, but she knew the truth. Her wife was so, so strong. Impossibly strong. And she wanted to remind her of that. Of her value and worth. Callie wanted to show Arizona that she saw her progress. That she saw _her_.

Arizona's eyelids lifted, and her eyes widened as she heard those simple but somehow comforting words. And – when she met Callie's generous eyes – her heart swelled with pure love and warmth. "We both are," she threw back, wanting to also acknowledge her wife's own resilience.

"Maybe," Callie surrendered. She had so many thoughts clotting inside her, and she wished more than anything that she could somehow innately know the right thing to say. How to explain to her wife how appreciative she was of her honestly and of how entirely she loved her.

But she didn't have beautiful words, and she didn't know what to say. Because – sometimes – real love meant messiness. At times like these, it could be clumsy, unpolished, and raw. And Callie didn't know what Arizona needed to hear, but she knew what she wanted to say:

That Arizona brightened her. Even on her darkest day, she made Callie feel brighter. And softer. And stronger. And better. By merely existing, and by existing with her. Arizona just made her _better_.

She made everything better.

Finally, she continued, "Maybe we're both strong, but I am _in awe_ of you, Arizona. And I love you." She reached, up, cupping a soft cheek with one of her hands, sweeping her thumb along ivory skin.

Arizona appreciatively melted into the touch, her eyes becoming lidded at the feeling as she smiled wanly at Callie. She was so grateful for their current healthy, beautiful marriage built on mutual love and trust. She was so in love with her wife. And she _loved_ loving her.

With a small smile, Callie added, "I'm _so_ lucky to love you. And you're going to have to let me love you a little extra today."

Arizona smirked challengingly, but her eyes were filled with pure love. "How can I do that?"

With utter seriousness, Callie pulled back and held out her arms, silently inviting Arizona into them. All their talk about plane crashes, death, and loss just made her want to hold Arizona protectively and never, ever let go. "Let me hold you. For a really long time."

Even as Arizona rolled her eyes, she inched closer to Callie, aching for comforting, supportive arms around her. Keeping her safe and grounded. Reminding her of how far they'd come.

As soon as Arizona fell into Callie, the taller woman wrapped her arms tightly around her, and Arizona, in turn, pulled their bodies even more tightly together as her hands came to splay against a strong spine.

In tandem, they released contented sighs – never feeling more whole and at home than together, in each other's arms.

Arizona relished in Callie's softness and warmth, as Callie inhaled Arizona's sweet suppleness, leaving gentle kisses on every inch of skin her lips could find.

She felt so much purpose, being exactly what Arizona needed. And having Arizona be exactly what _she_ needed: someone to fall on.

They always caught each other. And moved forward together.

After a few long, silent minutes of blissful touch, Arizona's hot, tired breath tiptoed across Callie's shoulder as she whispered an almost imperceptible, "Thank you for loving me."

And Callie loved her. Effortlessly, exhaustlessly, endlessly. These days, Callie always loved her. Even when she disliked her, she loved her even more.

It was something many people never got the chance to experience, in their entire lives. It was something that was almost unimaginable. It was something magical, what she and Callie shared. The depth of their love was beyond. Beyond words, beyond expectation, beyond reason. Just…_beyond_. And Arizona knew it.

Pulling Arizona more firmly against her, becoming one, Callie smiled. The emotion she felt for her wife was beyond love. It was immeasurable. And it was just so…_simple_. It was entirely void of selfishness, loving Arizona. It just…

It just was.

"Don't thank me," Callie whispered, nuzzling her nose against Arizona's skin. "Loving you is the best thing I've ever done."


	101. Chapter 101

**Another reconciliation scenario. Written after 12x07.**

* * *

"April mentioned you went to a girlbar," Callie began awkwardly, attempting to sound casual.

Arizona offered a smile as she looked up at her ex-wife, but even Callie could see that it was forced. "Yeah. You've managed to move on. I figured I should give it a shot."

Callie knit her eyebrows together. What did that mean? Had Arizona not given "it a shot" until now? Then, perhaps a little too eagerly, she asked, "How'd it go?"

Arizona attempted to muster up a smile. "Great," she swore. In fact, _no_, it hadn't gone great. As good of a wingman as Richard had – surprisingly – ended up being, it had ended up being _her_ who had held herself back.

Because as good as she was at flirting, at laughing, and at winning over women, she couldn't help but feel like it was all so _forced_. And – as cute as the women had been – something had just been missing.

A spark, maybe. Enough chemistry for her to want – to _need_ – to take them home, the way she'd once felt with Callie.

Something had just been…missing. But she was putting herself out there. And that was a start.

"Great," Callie agreed, her voice rising an octave. "That's…" she paused, smiling at her ex-wife. "Great."

She felt weird, though. For some reason, her stomach had sunk in a strange way that she hadn't experienced in a long time. Why? This was good! Arizona moving on – them both finding happiness with other people…It was good. Her stomach must have been having other issues.

* * *

It wasn't until later that afternoon that Arizona finally tracked April down in the bathroom, needing to vent to her some more.

"I just don't know what's wrong!" she exclaimed. "I don't know why it feels so wrong!"

"Jackson and I had sex last night," April admitted, cutting directly into Arizona's frustrated ramble.

"I…" Arizona shook her head. "_What_?"

Arizona bit her lip and nodded. "And it was good. It was awesome. But I just felt _awful_ afterwards, and he just turned away. It was supposed to be good! But now I feel like with further than ever."

"I don't know what to say," Arizona regretted.

April huffed. "I know. Me neither." She shook her head, clearing it. "You were saying the girlbar didn't go well?"

"It _did_ go well!" Arizona argued. "But something was missing!"

"Callie?" April asked. Just like that.

"What?" Arizona's eyes shot to her best friend. Where had _that_ come from?

"I don't know!" April defended. "You've been weird when you've talked about her lately. Are there maybe still feelings there?"

"_What_?" Arizona couldn't seem to make any other words.

April shrugged silently, letting Arizona work through it.

"I…I…" she began disjointedly. She couldn't think about this. Even if there still were feelings – and the sudden pain in her stomach was telling her that there were – it didn't matter. "She's with Penny. She's happy." It was the only defense Arizona had. It was all she knew.

And if Callie was happy, then she wasn't going to disrupt that. Not after she'd suffocated her ex-wife for so long.

April released a loud sigh, hating her life that day but hoping that everything wouldn't stay sour for Arizona. "If you love her, then you should fight for her. It's not working that well for me, but you two are different. And you never left."

She had, though. Emotionally, she had.

It didn't matter. She wasn't going to approach Callie and risk her ex walking away, _again_. After everything, she wouldn't be able to bear it. "Maybe you're right. But I can't just tell her. She feels 'free' without me, remember?"

April nodded and, dejectedly, they both headed out of the empty public restroom and back to work.

What they had failed to realize was that the restroom, in fact, hadn't been empty.

Scared to even breathe, Callie had been locked in one of the many stalls when the pair had walked in.

And she had heard everything.

* * *

"Penny!" Callie called, tracking down her girlfriend later that day.

The redhead turned around. "Callie," she breathed, relieved to see her. She'd been a _bitch_ the day before. She owed her girlfriend an apology.

"Hey," Callie shifted from foot to foot.

"Listen…" Penny began, ready to grovel. She had been out of line. Honest, but still. It hadn't been right to explode at Callie, especially when she had just been trying to help. Before she continued, though, Callie interrupted.

"I don't think we should do this."

Penny's face bleached white. "What?"

"You and I," Callie explained. "It doesn't seem like we're working."

"No," Penny interrupted. God, this wasn't what she wanted. They'd only had an argument! "I'm sorry about earlier, and…"

Callie shook her head. "This isn't about earlier. I just…I need time to think about what I want. I'm sorry."

Penny nodded slowly, understanding. She was being dumped. And there was nothing she could do about it.

"I'm still for you. For anything you need."

She needed to think, though. About what she heard. About what she felt.

Was it possible that Arizona still…wanted to be with her? And was it possible that she felt the same?

Was it possible that they could work, if they tried again?

* * *

Weeks passed, and Arizona felt like she was sitting on her hands. She'd felt antsy for days. Because – the more she thought about it – the more she _yearned_ for Callie.

Callie was the most amazing, magical, beautiful woman she'd ever known, and she'd never been scared to admit that.

What she was realizing then, though, was the painful truth that, _maybe_, she didn't have to move on.

Well, she had to, for sanity's sake. Because Callie was with Penny.

But she could also be honest with herself about the fact that Callie perhaps always would be the most amazing, magical, and beautiful woman.

Maybe, she'd be able to find someone else but never anyone better.

And that thought was so freakin' painful because it made her not even want to look. Because there, walking towards her, was her true love. Her only true love.

And, yet, she needed to move on. Just as Callie successfully had.

"Hey," Callie offered a bright smile as she walked past her, grabbing a chart from the nurses' station.

"Hi," Arizona chirped awkwardly. God, she needed to get over this. She couldn't just ache over Callie forever.

"What, um," Callie bit her lip, hesitantly meeting intense blue eyes. God, they were really, really blue. "What are you doing tonight?"

Arizona's eyebrows flew up to the ceiling. "Um…"

Callie pushed on. "Because I was wondering if, maybe, you'd want to have dinner with Sof and I? As a family, maybe?"

Working to keep the shock off her features, Arizona nodded slowly. "Sure. Dinner sounds great."

Callie exhaled a relieved sigh, smiling. How did Arizona still make her so nervous? "Great. Just come by as soon as your shift ends."

"Sure," she nodded and watched as Callie hurried away. What the hell had just happened?

* * *

Arizona's shift ended at five, but she didn't end up going to Callie's right away. Instead, she went home herself, showered, tried on six different nearly identical outfits, and then finally headed towards her ex-wife's. She brought a bottle of wine along with her, for the sake of politeness. The gesture was microcosmic for their relationship in general, these days; they were polite. Just polite.

They were people who used to mean everything to one another, and now they were simply polite.

And if Arizona hadn't had that conversation with April, it might not have bothered her. In fact, she may have been impressed at their maturity. But now, she couldn't stop thinking about them meaning everything to one another once again.

She loved Callie more than anyone. Even now.

Slowly, she stepped up to the door of Callie's new house, hesitantly knocking on the door. She'd been there before. Many times. But it still felt oddly unfamiliar. After all, it was _Callie's_ house, as opposed to one they shared.

Mere seconds later, the door was thrown open, and she was met with Sofia grinning up at her. "Hi, Mommy."

"Hey, sweetie," Arizona gushed, letting herself in and running her fingers through her daughter's silky black hair. "Where's your mom?" Together, they headed towards the kitchen, but the blonde made a point of looking at her surroundings, searching for anything new.

Every time she was inside this house, she felt like she was looking around for signs of Penny moving in. It was silly. She knew it was silly. As far as she knew, Callie and her girlfriend were nowhere near that involved.

But, still. A part of her expected that day to come. Soon.

"Mommy's here!" Sofia sing-songed as she trotted into the kitchen, Arizona trailing behind her with trepidation.

"Oh, good!" Callie grinned at their little girl, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. Then, she brought her eyes up to Arizona. "Hi," she breathed, a shadow of a smile still pulling at her features.

"Hi," Arizona smiled. God, since when were Callie's eyes such a pretty shade of brown?

Ugh. Since forever. She knew that.

"Um. I, uh, brought wine!" she exclaimed, holding the bottle out to Callie.

"Great," Callie chirped, taking the bottle. "Thank you!"

Arizona smiled. "Can I help you with anything?"

Callie shook her head, assuring her ex, "Everything's almost ready."

Sofia looked up at Arizona and exclaimed, "Mommy! I made you a picture at preschool today."

"You did?" Arizona cooed excitedly as Callie contently looked on. "Can you show me?"

"Mhmm," Sofia nodded, immediately grabbing the blonde's hand and leading her towards her room.

"I want to see, too!" Callie called after them, hoping Sofia would bring the picture back to show her.

Once in Sofia's room, the little girl ran towards her backpack to get out the painting she'd done that morning. Proudly, she held it out towards Arizona, who moved onto the bed so that they could look at it together.

"What did you paint, Sof?" she asked as she took in the bright colors, concentric circles, and blob-ish looking figures.

Nestled beside her, Sofia pointed at the figures, identifying them. "I'm here, in the pink dress; you're in the middle, in the blue dress; and Mommy's over there, in the red dress."

"Wow," Arizona admired appreciatively, trying to further decipher the image. "What are we doing? Are those our heads?"

"Um hum," Sofia nodded.

"Why are they on top of each other?"

"We're hugging, Mommy!" Sofia explained, giggling at how slow to catch on her mother was.

"You always say 'I love you' when you hug me goodnight," Sofia further embellished. "And Mommy says families love each other. And we're a family, right?"

Arizona looked down into those curious big brown eyes and didn't hesitate a moment before promising, "Yes. We're a family, sweetie." Because – in all honesty – Callie would always be family to her. Even if they were worlds apart.

"Dinner's ready, ladies!" Callie called from the other room.

"Come on," Arizona stood up, pulling Sofia along with her. "How about we go show this _awesome masterpiece_ to your mom?"

Sofia nodded eagerly, skipping towards the kitchen as an amused Arizona followed behind her, carrying the painting.

"Sit wherever," Callie invited, handing Arizona a glass of wine as Sofia sat at her usual spot at the four-person square table.

Arizona chose to sit to the side of Callie and across from her daughter. They easily fell into conversation as they began to eat, and for both women, the scene felt oddly familial.

Not to say that they weren't a family, because – as Arizona had sworn – they were.

But she and Callie were divorced, and the dinner felt familial in a routine, normal-happy-family kind of way.

Because, more than feeling familial, it felt _right_.

Which was wrong, Arizona thought. Because it shouldn't have felt right. Because Callie had walked away. And she'd moved on. And she was dating Penny.

Beside her, Callie was having her own internal breakdown. How was she going to tell Arizona everything she wanted – and needed – to say? The conversation she'd overheard let her know that her ex-wife would likely respond in kind, but still. What if she didn't? And what if both them still loving each other wasn't enough?

Deciding to ruse herself from her intimidating thoughts, Callie began, "What's this picture you painted, Sof? Can you show me?"

"Oh, yeah!" Sofia scrambled off her chair to grab the painting Arizona had set on the counter then handed it to Callie.

Her eyes narrowed as she attempted to take it in. It was certainly colorful. And abstract. She noted a circle with yellow lines protruding from it – presumably Arizona's head. There were also two circles surrounded with black lines – presumably her and Sofia.

Callie curiously looked towards Arizona. She was going to need a little more explanation than that. "Is this us?"

Arizona nodded, a playful smile lighting up her face. She cocked her head towards Sofia. "Explain it, Sof."

"It's our family!" Sofia explained. "We're all hugging because of love."

"Because of love, huh?" Callie smirked. God, there little girl was so cute that she almost couldn't bear it.

Sofia nodded. "Because you love Mommy and me and Mommy loves you and me and I love you!"

Instinctually, Arizona felt herself stiffen as her eyes cut to Callie's reaction of hearing their daughter's innocent insistence that they loved each other. Even hearing the words made her heart explode in her chest, and more than anything, they made her _ache_ to say them aloud. And even more so, they made her panic.

But Callie didn't react in the way of correcting Sofia or by appearing uncomfortable. In fact, Arizona noticed that she looked surprisingly serene – which seemed odd.

And she didn't seem to be having any sort of adverse physiological reaction, which only worked to reaffirm to Arizona how alone she was in this. How much Callie had moved on.

_She's done,_ the blonde reminded herself. _Done. Done. Donezo. She's been done for two years. She left. Somewhere along the way, you screwed everything up, and then she stopped wanting you. _

_Stop wanting her._

Arizona couldn't stop. Freakin' April had forced her to come to terms with the fact that Callie still had a hold on her heart.

"I love it," Callie finally vowed, offering Sofia her proudest smile. "It's beautiful, baby."

Sofia grinned back, responding with a polite, "Thank you," just as her moms had taught her.

Once they'd finished dinner and worked together to clear the table, Callie excused Sof. She needed to talk to Arizona.

"Sof, why don't you go watch an episode of Scooby Doo before bed?" she suggested. "Mommy and I need to talk."

Sofia eagerly nodded, suddenly excitedly wiggling around like a little puppy. TV before bed was an exciting prospect. Especially on a school night.

Callie lifted her eyes to Arizona's alarmed face. _Why did she look so terrified_? "I'll be right back," she assured her softly. "I'm just going to get her set up."

Hesitantly, Arizona nodded. What did Callie want to talk about? Did she want to take things to the next level with Penny? Was she moving away? Was she going to work at a more renowned hospital? It could have been anything.

Forcing herself to calm down, Arizona began slowly pacing around the kitchen as she worked to slow her rampant heart. She was fine. Everything would be fine.

"Hey," Callie welcomed carefully as she walked back into the kitchen. "Are you okay?"

Arizona jumped. "Oh. Hey. Yeah."

Callie's lips turned up. She was oddly endeared by the woman's anxiety. Even then, Arizona managed to surprise her.

A shaky breath escaped Arizona's lips as Callie stepped closer, them both awkwardly standing beside the kitchen island. "Thanks for dinner."

Callie smiled. "Thanks for coming," she replied honestly. She licked her lips, unsure of where to begin. She had no idea how to articulate what she had realized: that she still loved Arizona with all of her heart. That she wanted to be with her again. That walking away had been necessary for her – and them both – at the time, but now, they had a chance. They had more than a chance, maybe.

Because she was willing to do anything to make them work this time around. And if Arizona felt the same…

There was no way they wouldn't make it.

"I need to tell you something."

Arizona's eyes widened as she felt her stomach clench. She wanted to run for the hills, but she didn't. Instead, she waited.

Because as terrified as she was to hear what the woman she loved was going to say, she also needed to hear it. She needed to know. Everything. Anything. All of it.

"We've been…separated for two years," Callie began awkwardly.

Arizona slowly nodded. It was true.

"And it's given us time to think about what we both want – individually. Right?"

"Right," Arizona breathed.

Callie bit her lip. "A few weeks ago…" she paused. "I heard you. In the restroom. With April." She watched as a myriad of emotions flew across Arizona's face: from confusion to a sobering understanding as her face blanched white.

Her voice a mere whisper, Callie revealed, "And you're wrong. I don't feel free without you."

Arizona shook her head, biting back her emotions. Weakly, she began, "You have Penny…"

Callie shook her head. "I don't. I don't want to be with her."

Again, blue eyes bulged, and Callie released a nervous chuckle. How did they still hold so much power over each other? All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around Arizona reassuringly and let her know that they would be okay. That they _were_ okay. That Callie loved her with all her heart.

She sighed. "Have you…been with anyone? Since we split?"

The last thing Arizona had expected was to hear that question. But Callie had asked her. Point blank. Of course. She always managed to surprise her. Then, she took a breath. "No. I was busy. And then I was hurting. And then I thought I was ready, and I tried, but…"

Callie felt butterflies flutter in her stomach, even having expected those words given the conversation she'd overheard. Hearing her assumption confirmed. It was crazy. It was almost unbelievable.

Arizona had cheated on her. And what had almost hurt worse was that she hadn't even made attempts at retribution afterwards. She'd instead opted to sleep with a resident because she'd been lonely.

Before her, Arizona had been a player. Women had loved her, and she'd loved them. Callie knew that.

So her being alone, and single, and celibate for all this time was almost incomprehensible. But it also worked to prove to Callie that everything Arizona had said was still true.

That she needed – and wanted – only her, to be happy. Apparently, it had been true before. And maybe, just maybe, it was true then, too.

Realizing she hadn't responded to Arizona's confession, Callie finally pressed, "_Why_?" She knew that the blonde had already given her an answer, but still, she wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything.

Arizona shrugged helplessly, shifting her gaze to her feet. Then, carefully, she brought her eyes back to Callie's. "You're my true love," she swore. "I don't want to settle for anyone else."

Callie felt her breath hitch. In surprise, in alarm, in _awe_. She was Arizona's true love. And Arizona was most definitely hers. Still, half-jokingly – even despite the tension – she joked, "I thought you didn't believe in true loves."

"I didn't," Arizona agreed, smiling wistfully, thinking back to the debate they'd had so long ago. "Until you. You…changed everything." She couldn't deny it. Callie had changed her in innumerable ways. Callie had changed her dreams, her heart, her very reasons for living.

"You're _my_ true love," Callie breathed in reply. It was true. "And do you know what I still want more than anything?" She felt her body buzzing. Positively thrumming. With love. With love for Arizona.

"What?" Arizona whispered, though she could already feel what was coming. _Happiness_. Finally. She could feel it in her bones.

"You."


	102. Chapter 102

**Set in 11 years. Written after 12x07. Leave me reviews!**

* * *

"Hey," Arizona smiled softly, leaning against the doorway to her daughter's room. "How's it going?"

"I can't believe we broke up," Sofia lamented. She knew it had been the right thing to do, but still, Ryan had been her first boyfriend. So she still felt a little heartbroken by it.

Arizona hummed in sympathy, walking towards Sofia's bed and sitting on the end. "You'll kiss a lot of frogs before you meet your prince."

Sofia raised her eyebrows in amusement.

"Not kiss!" Arizona protectively corrected herself. "Meet. You'll _meet_ a lot of frogs." She did not want to think about her 15-year-old kissing _anyone_, let alone lots of people.

Sofia giggled devilishly. "Right. _Meet_."

Arizona rolled her eyes, but with affection. "You're forgetting that you don't get to kiss anyone who doesn't meet your mom's approval." Callie was insistent that she meet any boy Sofia had a crush on.

This time, it was Sofia who rolled her eyes. "She's crazy," she grumbled.

"She loves you," Arizona corrected.

It was then that Callie, who had been walking down the hallway, stopped at Sofia's bedroom door. "Hey," she smiled genuinely at the sight of her two favorite people sitting on Sof's bed. "What are you two talking about?" She walked over and sat beside Arizona, her hand immediately and soothingly running down her back.

"Talking about boys," Sofia sighed.

Callie sympathetically pouted out her lower lip. "I'm sorry about Ryan, sweetie."

Sofia shrugged, making a valiant attempt at being okay. "It's fine."

Callie and Arizona shared a look, unconvinced.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Arizona asked thoughtfully. "Or to help you sleep?"

Sofia shook her head momentarily, then paused, thinking. There was _one_ thing that always seemed to make her feel better. At least it always had, when she was younger. "Can you tell me your story?"

Arizona's eyes widened, and Callie groaned, leaning her head onto Arizona's shoulder. "Again? You have it memorized!"

Sofia shrugged self-consciously. "Not completely," she defended weakly.

Callie and Arizona realized that, clearly, their daughter was more upset than she was letting on. After all, it was her very first break up. And – mutual or not – it was bound to hurt.

"Sure," Arizona surrendered, willing to do whatever it took to make her little girl feel better.

"But if you want to be babied, then we're all snuggling. Just like old times," Callie added.

Sofia blanched. "Seriously?"

Callie smiled wickedly. "Those are our terms." She and Sofia silently challenged each other with their eyes as Arizona looked on in amusement, wondering who would crack first.

Finally, it was Sofia. "Fine," she surrendered, kicking off her blankets and setting a pillow on either side of her, silently inviting her moms over.

With a sense of victory, Callie and Arizona settled on either side of Sof, cuddling against her and against each other.

"Tell me the real story, this time," Sofia insisted. "You can't just keep telling me that, when you finally met, it was true love's kiss. I know it's not that simple."

Arizona shrugged, her eyes instantaneously meeting Callie's for a long moment. "It kind of was for me."

Callie grinned, clasping their hands together behind Sof's head.

"Yeah," Callie agreed. "My entire life felt _hard_ until your mom came along. She made everything simple."

"For a while, anyway," Arizona added regretfully.

Callie squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Loving you was never complicated. Everything else was."

Sofia settled deeper into the bed, closing her eyes. "I'm waiting for my story."

Arizona poked her side. "So demanding."

"Hey!" Sofia screeched before her mom could go full-on tickle monster on her.

"Fine," Arizona sighed. "Where does the story start?"

Sofia looked up at her. "You saw mom."

"Right," Arizona smiled, her eyes meeting Callie's. "I saw her."

Even having known and loved Arizona for seventeen years, Callie felt her cheeks flush at the way her wife looked at her.

"And she was beautiful," Arizona insisted.

"Awwww," came the comment from the peanut gallery, though, in truth, Sofia loved her mom's cheesiness. Her parents seemed to live a real-life fairy tale.

"And so I asked about her," Arizona continued, ignoring Sofia's interruption. "And everyone at the hospital had a lot to say. But what I remember most was everyone saying how much she _cared_. One nurse told me about how she would always follow up with former patients a week, a month, and a year later, just to see how they were doing."

Callie smirked. "I still do that."

Arizona grinned. "I know." Turning back to look at Sofia, she whispered, "I was smitten."

Sofia giggled, as she peeked at Callie, whose eyes were trained on Arizona's face, watching her intently. "Sooo," she prompted. "Then what happened?"

"Then she kissed me," Callie explained. "I was upset, and she strode in like a knight in shining armor."

Sofia's jaw dropped. "You never told me that!" She turned to Arizona. "You kissed her before she even knew who you were?"

Arizona laughed, and Callie defended, "I knew her."

Arizona looked up, wide-eyed. This was news to her.

With an amused smile, Callie's gaze fell onto Arizona's face. "Bailey had mentioned the 'obnoxiously perky new peds surgeon,'" she expanded. "But I hadn't expected her to be like _that_."

"Like what?" Arizona teased, but in truth, she was curious.

"_Hot_," Callie responded simply, her voice dropping an octave.

Arizona felt herself blush. Callie had such power over her, even after so much time.

"Ew," Sofia commented, throwing her blanket over her face. "You guys are old."

Arizona frowned, and Callie glared at her daughter, making her blood run ice cold. One thing she did not like was Sofia's teenage attitude. "We can leave," she threatened.

"No!" Sof exclaimed. "Sorry. Keep going."

Satisfied with the apology, Callie nodded her head, reaching down to affectionately tuck a lock of hair behind her daughter's ear. "Then we started dating."

"And fell in love," Arizona added.

"And had you," Callie finished, purposefully skipping over the 'no kids' fights, the shooting, and two painful, painful breakups.

"With Daddy," Sofia commented, though, really, it was more of a question.

"With Daddy," Arizona agreed. "But _that_ part of the story will have to wait for a different day."

"Whyyy?" Sofia whined.

Callie chuckled. "Because it's already ten, and it's a looong story."

"Fine," Sofia relented gruffly.

Callie and Arizona shared a knowing smirk, and then Arizona continued, "And, then, once you and Mom healed from the car crash, we got married."

"And it wasn't legal, yet," Callie added. "But we promised to love each other forever. It was real to us."

Arizona nodded in agreement. It had been.

"Until you got divorced," Sofia guessed. She knew that part of her parents' journey.

"No," Arizona corrected. "Until the plane crash. That made loving each other a lot harder."

Callie bit her lip. "A lot harder," she breathed. That was true both due to her own depression and decisions and to Arizona's subsequent depression, PTSD, and decisions.

"Why?" Sofia knit her eyebrows together in curiosity, looking exactly like Callie, for a moment.

Arizona shrugged in resignation, feeling a jolt of sadness flow through her even at the memories. "We both broke our promises," she lamented. She had forgiven herself for cheating years before – and so had Callie – but still. A part of her still couldn't believe she'd done it.

Noticing Arizona's inner turmoil at the memory, Callie reached over Sofia to set her hand on Arizona's thigh. "And then we broke up."

"_Why_?" Sofia pressed.

"It's not part of the fairy tale," Arizona assured her, avoiding the question. "Trust me, honey."

"But then we got back together!" Callie added reassuringly.

"Until we got divorced," Arizona finished, looking down at Sofia. "You still remember living at two different houses for a while, right?"

Sofia nodded. "But why did you divorce?"

Callie sighed. "We still hadn't forgiven each other for breaking those promises. We needed time to figure out who we were and what we wanted."

Arizona nodded in agreement. The people they'd dated during that time were, thankfully, so irrelevant in retrospect. It was almost funny how much Penny had bothered her once. She absent-mindedly ran her fingers down Sofia's arm, thinking. "And I figured out that I wanted your mom back."

Callie grinned at Arizona. "And I figured out that I wanted you."

Arizona grinned back, then leaned down and kissed Sofia's head. "And then we lived happily ever after."

Sofia giggled, then complained, "You only told me the good parts!"

"We told you more than we used to!" Callie defended.

Sofia crossed her arms over her chest, pouting, "I want more."

"And I want a nicer daughter, but we can't all get what we want," Callie countered, half-jokingly.

"Mom!" Sofia exclaimed, offended.

"Callie!" Arizona chided. She pulled Sofia closer. "She's kidding. We love you just the way you are."

"That's true," Callie agreed, becoming serious. "And we really are sorry about Ryan.

Sofia exhaled loudly. "Me, too." Then, curiously, she asked, "How many times did you break up?"

"Four times," Arizona answered immediately. She made a face. "Well, three and a half."

"But you're in love now?" Sofia intoned.

Arizona nodded, setting her hand over the one still resting over her thigh. "We are."

"And you're not going to break up again?" she pressed.

Callie shook her head, promising her daughter, "Never."

"But how do you _know_?" Sofia interrogated, still not completely convinced.

"Because we understand each other better now," Callie explained honestly. "And we communicate. And listen. And work harder. And forgive. And because we know that there's nothing better out there."

Arizona nodded in agreement, then winked at Sofia and whispered conspiratorially, "And because she's my prince."

Sofia giggled, thinking back to their earlier conversation, and Callie scoffed.

"Sorry," Arizona corrected herself, smirking slyly. "Prince_ss_."

"I prefer goddess," Callie insisted.

Arizona smiled contently. "That, too."

Callie smiled back, feeling a warmth fill her that never seemed to abate entirely, these days. She forced herself to break her eyes away from Arizona's and looked down at Sof. "Are you going to be able to sleep, now?" she asked worriedly.

Sofia nodded sleepily. "Mm hm. Much better now." She popped an eye open. "But I want the _full_ story later."

Callie laughed. "In a few years, maybe."

Arizona chuckled, working on extracting herself from the sheets in order to let a very tired teenager sleep.

Standing up, Callie leaned down over Sofia, kissing her daughter's sweet-smelling head. "We love you. I promise you'll get your happy ending eventually."

"Even if it takes breaking up four times," Sofia groaned.

Arizona laughed lightly, leaning down to place her own chaste kiss against Sof's hair. "Exactly. Whatever work it takes, it'll be worth it one day."

Sofia nodded, snuggling more deeply into her covers. "Mmkay," she exhaled. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Callie and Arizona chorused, switching off the lamp and tip-toeing out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

Once in the hallway, Arizona turned and smiled tenderly at Callie.

"What?" Callie knit her eyebrows together, a whisper of a smile still adorning her face.

"We got our happy ending," Arizona repeated, her voice filled with nothing but wonder.

Callie's lips turned up into a heart-stopping smile as her hands came up to wrap around Arizona's waist. "We did."

Dimpling, Arizona lifted her hands to Callie's face, pulling it towards her.

Callie more than willingly ducked her head, covering pink lips with her own and reveling in the feeling of them melting into each other.

God, life was good. And they lived happily ever after, indeed.


	103. Chapter 103

**A little Borres AU. Inspired by George/Callie in 3x18. **

**(This took five minutes to write but makes me squirmy happy to think about because, like, I wish.)**

* * *

"Hey," Callie smiled, sauntering towards her girlfriend. "How's it going?"

Penny turned to her, a frown already evident on her face. "What's your ex-wife's problem?"

Confused and more than a little irritated with Penny's tone, Callie knit her eyebrows together. "What?"

"I'm on her service," Penny explained. "And all the residents have been saying how she's the _best_ teacher. But she barely even looks at me."

"I'm sure she's not…"

"I think she's jealous," Penny interrupted.

Callie made a face. _That_ was impossible. It'd been almost two years! "No, she isn't. She must be having some other problem. Maybe—"

"She has feelings for you!" Penny interrupted again, suddenly explosive. How freakin' clueless could Callie _be_?

"What?" Callie snapped.

"She wants you. She wants _you_. That's what this is about. That's why she hates me."

Callie shook her head. "No. No, no, no," she couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. It was just so wrong.

"Callie, don't laugh at me!" Penny exclaimed, feeling invalidated.

"I'm not," Callie laughed, attempting to pull herself together. "I'm not. It's just…She's Arizona. She's blonde; she's hot; she's _perfect_; she's…Moved on. There are women lining up for her."

Penny swallowed hard. "She's perfect, huh?" she fought.

Callie visibly deflated. "Penny, I didn't mean…"

"No, I think you did. And maybe there _are_ women lining up for her, but it doesn't look like she wants them."

Callie's eyes widened.

"She wants you," Penny decided. "And I think you want her, too."


	104. Chapter 104

**Set in the future. Calzona and Sofia are old. :)**

* * *

"Mom?" Sofia asked uneasily, slowly plodding into the living room.

Arizona looked up from the newspaper, her lips instantly settling into a smile when she saw her daughter. She set down her reading, giving the teen her full attention. "What's up, Sof?"

Sofia stalked over to the couch, sitting down and settling her knobby knees against her mom's. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon and, generally, she would have been spending this time at the movies or with friends, but not today. College applications were due in a matter of weeks, and she had yet to even begin one of her personal essays for the UCs. It was a tough prompt, and she needed help. Desperately.

"I need help," she pouted, looking up to see the blonde curiously looking down at her notepad and pen. "With my personal essay," she added.

"Oh!" Arizona understood, her brows no longer furrowed in confusion. "Of course, sweetie. How can I help?"

Before Sofia could continue, she was interrupted with Callie carefully walking in, her eyes trained on the three overflowing mugs she balanced in her hands.

Once she had safely set them on the coffee table, she offered a radiant smile to her two girls. "I thought I heard you both in here."

She handed a suddenly-excited Sofia a mug, then Arizona. "I brought cocoa," she explained.

"With mini-marshmallows," Sofia grinned. They were her favorite.

"Of course," Callie joked, grabbing her own mug and moving to sit beside Arizona, instantaneously wrapping an arm around her.

"Mmm," Arizona hummed contently, settling more deeply into her wife. She lifted her face, affectionately kissing a soft caramel cheek. "I was cold, but now I'm warm."

Callie smiled, running her hand up and down the blonde's sweatshirt-clad shoulder. "Good."

Then, they both turned to Sofia, and Arizona again asked, "Your personal essay. What do you need help with?"

"Oh, yeah!" Sofia remembered. She turned her body to face her moms', tucking one leg under the other as she got comfortable. "So, for UC Berkeley and UCLA, one of the prompts is asking about where we get our strength."

Callie and Arizona nodded, waiting.

"And I think there are a lot of things I could say," Sofia continued, shrugging indifferently, "But, really, I think I get most of my strength from you."

She looked up at her moms' wide eyes and flattered smiles, flushing in vulnerable embarrassment. "What?" she grumbled.

Arizona's dimples deepened at her usually fearless daughter's sudden shyness. She couldn't help but pull the girl towards her, peppering thick black hair with reverent maternal kisses. "We're going to miss you!" she wailed – only half joking – and earning herself a groan from Sofia and a comforting, understanding squeeze from Callie.

Finally, Sofia was able to pull away and scowled at the blonde, still unable to hide her amused smile entirely. She loved her family, and she'd miss them, too. "I don't even know where I'm going yet."

"True," Callie conceded. "But you can understand how applying to schools in California has us missing you a little, already."

"Let's not talk about it," Arizona protested. In truth, the mere idea of Sofia growing up and leaving them made her want to cry, and she was _not_ a crier.

"Thank you," Sofia recognized, sighing gratefully. "Anyway, can you please help?"

Callie and Arizona nodded, becoming serious. "Of course," Callie promised.

Sofia smiled. "Good. Okay. So, tell me the hardest things you've gone through in the last, like, twenty years. And how you got through them."

Nodding thoughtfully, Callie began. "I've mentioned before that I was married to George."

Sofia nodded. "The intern."

"Yeah," Callie smiled wistfully. "The _intern_. Anyway, he cheated on me. Then we got a divorce. Then he died. We were bad for each other, but," she sighed. "He was a good guy. It was hard."

Arizona smiled reassuringly at her wife, and Sofia vigorously scribbled down notes on her pad of paper.

Callie waited, and then Sofia looked up, silently urging her to continue.

"Then I dated someone who disappeared. She was here one second, gone the next." Callie turned, smiling flirtatiously at Arizona. "But it ended up being for the best."

"Awww," Arizona joked, earning herself a jesting shoulder nudge from the brunette.

Sofia waited. By now, she was used to her moms' affectionate banter. "What happened next?"

"Your mom went after me, then rejected me."

Arizona's mouth gaped as she silently attempted to defend herself, making Callie throw back her head and laugh.

"She did?!" Sofia questioned.

"Not for long," Callie smirked. "It was really hard when Abuelito found out we were seeing each other, though. You know how old fashioned he is."

Sofia rolled her eyes. "I know. He's still not over the fact that I went to prom _with an actual boy_."

Arizona giggled. "He'll get over it. Just like he did with Callie."

Callie ran her fingers through silky blonde hair, offering, "You might have to give him another rousing speech. Worked like a charm last time."

Arizona dimpled at her. "True."

"What speech?" Sofia asked.

Arizona made a face. "Your abuelo was trying to _change_ Callie," she explained. "He brought a priest to 'save her soul' and make her straight."

Sofia's eyes widened.

"So I told him that Callie was still the amazing woman he raised her to be, and that I loved her and would protect her."

"That's so cute!" Sofia exclaimed.

"And then you wouldn't admit that you talked to him!" Callie interjected.

"I couldn't!" Arizona defended. "I had told him that I was in love with you, and I wasn't sure we were there yet."

Callie grinned. "I was."

Arizona huffed. "I didn't know that. At the time."

"What happened _after_ that?" Sofia interjected. "I want to write this freakin' thing this weekend. Tell me more bad things."

Callie frowned, but Arizona understood. "Then some other stuff happened," she continued for Callie, wanting to gloss over their first breakup and the whole I-don't-want-kids thing. Sofia was the best thing to ever happen to her. "Then a shooter came to the hospital, and a lot of people got hurt."

Sofia nodded. "Zola said Derek got shot."

"Yeah," Arizona sighed. "Uncle Alex, too."

Sofia's eyes bulged. "_Really_?"

Callie nodded. "Mmm hmm. It was the worst thing any of us had ever gone through. But it taught us about what mattered."

"What?" Sofia asked.

Arizona set her palm over Callie's knee. "Each other."

"And then some other stuff happened…" Callie continued.

"What stuff?" Sofia pressed.

Arizona made a face. "I moved to Africa, came back, found out about you—"

"Oh boy," Sofia interrupted. She couldn't imagine how it must have felt for the blonde to come home and learn that her other mom was pregnant. She was just grateful for how well it had turned out, though.

"And then there was the car crash," Callie added. "You were the strongest kid from your very first breath."

Arizona nodded in agreement. "Though you got some of that strength from Mom, I think." She bit her lip, looking at Callie before absentmindedly continuing, "I didn't think she'd make it. Or you. I'd never been more scared."

Callie tightened her hold on Arizona, pulling her impossibly closer.

Sofia paused momentarily, then gently prompted, "And then the plane crash happened, right?"

Neither Callie nor Arizona could keep from wincing at the mention. That had – by far – been the most difficult hurdle they had endured.

Arizona squeezed Callie's thigh, and Callie immediately set her other palm over Arizona's hand, offering what little comfort she could.

"Yeah," the blonde sighed. "That sucked."

And Callie couldn't help but smile at the fact that they could now describe the plane crash – something that had once destroyed them both – as something that had "sucked." It was true, of course, but it was almost a comical word to describe it. It had so much more than "sucked." It had ruined them.

Sofia nodded. "I know about it," she said understandably. "We don't have to go into it."

Arizona shone at her daughter. "I don't mind, if it'll help."

Sofia shook her head decisively. "No, I know it all. I know how strong you were."

"I'm not sure you do," Callie argued, her adoring eyes never straying from Arizona's face.

"Callie…" Arizona pleaded, even as a small smile crossed her lips.

"Hey, I'm in love with you, so I get to brag about you," Callie insisted. She turned back to Sofia. "The plane crash sucked, but so did the year after it," she explained. "Your mom wouldn't leave the bed for days, at first. The two men in her life died, her leg was gone, and she had nightmares every night. But she knew she needed to get up and move forward. And she fought like hell to do that."

Sofia nodded, listening intently.

Callie then turned to Arizona, suddenly remembering, "Do you remember when your first physical therapist made you write a list? Of why you needed to start walking? To…heal?"

Arizona knit her eyebrows together, attempting to think back. She didn't remember. "Not really."

Callie smiled wistfully. "I do." She squeezed her hand, turning back to Sofia. "I still remember crying as soon as he showed me. It was the first ounce of hope I'd gotten in months."

"What did it say?" Sofia asked, her curiosity taking over.

"Wait!" Callie shot straight up, extracting herself from Arizona as she rushed towards their bedroom. She riffled through the stack of important papers she kept in a shoe box in her closet, finally finding the one she had been searching for. She raced back to the couch, ignoring her wife and daughter's curious faces as she settled back against Arizona.

"The doctor wanted her to write down why she wanted to learn to walk, and heal, and get better," Callie explained. She handed Sofia the slip of paper, and Sof looked down at it before reading aloud:

_For my family._

Sofia smiled, and Arizona settled her head into the crook of Callie's neck.

"And then – a few years later – she got better. Completely," Callie smiled. "For you."

"For you both," Arizona corrected. Then, a little overwhelmed by the praise, she added, "And your mom showed her strength after the crash, too. She had to be strong for the both of us. For the _three_ of us," she added, thinking of Mark. For the first few months after the amputation and Mark's death, Sofia had only had one effective parent.

Sofia's lips slowly turned up into a grin as she considered how lucky she was to have her moms. Her friends always complained about their parents and, sure, Callie and Arizona could be annoying, too, but Sofia knew that she was infinitely blessed. Not everyone could say that their parents were their role models. But for her, the statement was true. Without a doubt.

"Badass," she breathed, slyly looking up at her moms' faces. Generally, she was scolded for swearing, but she had a feeling that – this time – it wouldn't be an issue.

Callie fixed a half-joking warning look at her, and Arizona just laughed. "You're right. We are."

And that just made Callie twinkle, because, really, her daughter was right. They were a badass family. "Fine," she surrendered. "We're bad…butts."

Sofia groaned. "Moooom…"

"Callie!" Arizona chided. "Sof is seventeen years old. I'm pretty sure it's safe for you to say that we're badasses."

"Yeah!" Sofia chimed in. "Admit it!"

"Fine!" Callie repeated. "We're a badass family!"

"Damn right!" Impassioned, Sofia threw her fist into the air, noticing her moms' disapproving expressions a second too late. "I mean…" she grinned. "_Darn_ right?"

Callie nodded affirmatively. "That's better."

Which just made Sofia and Arizona giggle conspiringly. When the blonde had chosen to parent with Callie, she never thought that her badass girlfriend would have ended up being so overprotective. She was grateful for her wife's parenting, though. They made a good team. They balanced each other out. Perfectly. Like yin and yang.

Arizona then lifted her eyebrow, refocusing on the task at hand: college essays. "Does all that help at all?"

Sofia nodded. "A lot. _Thank you_."

"Of course," Arizona dimpled.

"Want us to help you edit it after you finish?" Callie offered.

"Please!" Sofia exclaimed. "I already know that it's going to be too long. I'm gonna need help cutting it down."

"We'll help," Callie promised.

"'Kay," Sofia began getting up from the couch, eager to begin. "I'm gonna go work on it."

"'Kay," Callie and Arizona chorused.

"We love you!" Callie called after her.

"Love you!" Sofia called from over her shoulder.

As soon as they heard her heading up the stairs, Callie turned her head to look at Arizona, whose eyes were already on her. And she couldn't help but blush at the wonder she saw reflected in cerulean eyes.

"What?" she asked self-consciously.

"Nothing," Arizona teased, shrugging. "I just love _you_."

Callie's lips turned up into a heart-stopping smile, so bright that it rivaled the sun. "I know," she grinned. "I love you, too."


	105. Chapter 105

**A conversation between Callie and Bailey. Set once Calzona's back together. Written after 12x08.**

* * *

"Bai-ley!" Callie sing-songed, galloping towards her friend.

Bailey gave her a quick once over. "That's Chief Bailey to you."

"Chief Bailey," Callie quickly corrected, looking contrite.

"What do you want?" Bailey intoned.

Callie bit her lip. "I need your help."

"With…?" Bailey pushed.

"With Arizona," Callie whispered. Before she could even explain further, her friend was shaking her head.

"Nuh uh," Bailey argued. "I am not here to listen to anyone's problems anymore. I'm the chief now. I've got more important things to do!"

"Baileeey," Callie whined, pouting and immediately following the woman who was attempting to escape from her. "Come on! First and foremost, you're my friend."

Bailey suddenly came to a stop, so abruptly that Callie nearly ran into her. "Torres, you two just got back together. How are you having problems already?"

"Well, it's not a problem," Callie clarified. She paused, looking around her. Then, she grabbed Bailey's arm and dragged her into the nearest empty hallway.

"Torres—" Bailey began to complain, but then Callie stopped short, turning to her friend.

"WHAT?" Bailey insisted.

"It's not a problem," Callie repeated. "I'm just…we haven't…" she paused. "We haven't, you know." She sighed, sounding vulnerable as she looked down and whispered, "We haven't…consummated anything."

A few seconds passed, and then, it clicked. Callie was talking about sex.

Bailey's eyes bulged. "You're coming to me about your _sex life_? _Again_?"

Before she could walk away, Callie grabbed her arm, fearfully explaining, "I just want it to be special."

Bailey turned back around, sighing sympathetically as she abandoned her harsh reserve. "Torres…"

Callie visibly gulped as she nervously waited for her friend to continue.

"It will be special no matter what," Bailey assured her.

"How do you know?" Callie questioned, still terrified.

Bailey sighed but smiled patiently at Callie. "I stood two feet away from you when you got married. And the way you two looked at each other…" she paused, and Callie bit her bottom lip. "Some people wait their whole lives for that and never find a love so deep. And you two get it _twice_."

Callie's lips slowly turned up into a tentative smile. They _were _lucky. Then, a new wave of worry sank in. "But…how do I make it memorable? It feels like our first time all over again!"

Bailey shrugged, unconcerned. "You know her. You know what she likes. And she _loves_ you."

Callie blushed.

"So it'll be memorable and special, no matter what," Bailey promised.

Callie finally released a relieved breath. "Okay," she breathed. "Thanks."

Bailey smiled softly. "Okay." Then, she straightened her blouse and lifted her chin. "Now," she began, switching back into chief mode. "If you'll excuse me, I've got chiefly things to do."


	106. Chapter 106

**A few short AUs. Written after 12x08.**

* * *

**Prompt: "Do you blame me?"**

* * *

"Do you blame me for it?"

Callie's eyes shot up to Arizona's face. Where had she come from? "What?"

Licking her lips, the blonde carefully sat in the chair beside her ex-wife's. "The divorce," she clarified. "I mean, I suffocated you, right?"

Understanding, Callie immediately began shaking her head. "No. No. I don't blame you for anything."

Raising her eyebrows, Arizona waited. She just wanted to understand. She wanted to understand _Callie_, who'd always been such an enigma to her. But a comforting one, somehow.

"We suffocated each other," Callie explained.

With pursed lips, Arizona nodded. "Oh."

Callie offered a soft reassuring smile. "We were so happy together once, Arizona. We once _made_ each other so happy. But with everything that happened…" she shrugged in defeat. "You seemed happier and more care-free during those thirty days away from me. And I hoped that a clear break would help us stop hurting."

"Did it help?" Arizona intoned. "Did you stop hurting?"

Callie shook her head. "Not for a long time. But, eventually, the anger faded and, with it, the pain."

Arizona nodded in agreement. Her anger and pain had faded, too. She felt nothing but tenderness for Callie now.

Callie smiled affectionately at her ex-wife. "And that was the whole point of the 30-day separation, right? So we didn't totally fail."

Arizona smirked. "But I'm pretty sure we were supposed to end up together." Then, she had a realization. If Callie had, in fact, walked away because she felt that she _had to _as opposed to _wanted to_, did they maybe still have a shot at ending up together? One day?

Callie curiously watched her ex-wife's face as Arizona worked through her thought process.

"We're happy now," Arizona stated.

Slowly, Callie nodded. It was true.

"And we no longer blame each other. For anything," she added. "Right?"

Callie felt her heart take off in her chest as her throat constricted. What was Arizona suggesting? "Right."

Arizona smiled. "So we could maybe start over, and still end up together."

Callie's eyes bulged. She gulped. Audibly. How did Arizona still have such a magnetic, terrifying, nerve wracking effect on her?

God. She knew _exactly_ how. The blonde was the person she'd promised her life to. The person she'd do anything for. The person she'd die for, if it came down to it.

Callie had the capacity to love anyone. She had a huge heart. She knew that. But she had never loved anyone as much as she loved Arizona. And that likely would never change.

"Would you…?" she began shakily. She didn't know how to ask. Did her ex-wife really think they had a chance, even after everything? And could Arizona really still want her?

Arizona bit her lip. "A few weeks ago," she began, "When the rumormill was going haywire, you heard something about me." She must've. Everyone had been talking, and Callie loved gossip.

"I…can't remember," Callie fibbed. But she did. Everyone had said that Arizona hadn't been with anyone since their divorce. That she'd been with women, sure, but she hadn't _been_ with women. Not completely.

And Callie had refused to believe it. Because Arizona was, well, Arizona. But now…

Arizona leveled a knowing look at her. She _knew_ Callie. And she knew that Callie remembered. Easily. "When I said I didn't need much, I meant it," she promised solemnly. "I just needed you and Sofia to be happy. And, now, there's _so_ much that makes me happy." She smiled, aching to reach for Callie but holding back. "But I still want you."

Even with eyes widened with shock, Callie couldn't control the smile that suddenly monopolized her features. How long had she waited to hear those words?!

And how long had she questioned Arizona's love for her? Her commitment? Too long. Forever, maybe. But, now, here her ex-wife was, _showing_ her how much she loved her and how committed she was.

Arizona loved her _a lot_. More than Callie had words for. More than she'd ever understand, maybe. And that was incredible.

"Yeah," she breathed, reaching out to quickly squeeze Arizona's ivory hand. She couldn't help herself. "Because I want you, too. So we could definitely start over and still end up together."

* * *

**Prompt: ****"I'd die for you. Of course, I'd haunt you in the afterlife but really, it's the thought that counts."**

* * *

"Arizona, please," Callie pleaded.

Arizona just shook her head, continuing to walk around the room, passive aggressively slamming drawers and picking up toys. "It's fine. Forget it."

"I didn't say I don't want to marry you!" Callie insisted.

Arizona huffed. "But a little bit, you did! You didn't say yes!"

Callie sighed. "I just…" she pleadingly looked towards Arizona, who immediately turned away, arms crossed. "Come here."

Again, Arizona shook her head. She didn't want to talk about this. She didn't want to hurt more.

"I _want_ to marry you," Callie insisted.

Arizona rolled her eyes, even as she stepped closer. "Don't lie, Calliope."

"I do! I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please."

Arizona just pursed her lips.

"I'd die for you. Of course, I'd haunt you in the afterlife. But, really, it's the thought that counts."

Arizona smirked, a hint of a smile crossing her lips. "That doesn't change the fact that you didn't answer my question."

Callie sighed. "I _want_ to marry you. I promise. I'm just…scared."

Arizona knit her eyebrows together.

Callie made a face. "It's just…marriage hasn't worked out so well for me, so far. George cheated. You cheated."

And as Arizona balked, her face turning white in pure agony and regret, Callie immediately reached for her hands, immediately entwining them. "Not that I blame you!" she quickly insisted. "I forgive you, and I mean that. But I'm still…scared. I was just thinking that, maybe, you won't feel so stifled if we're not married."

Unable to process Callie's reassurances, Arizona's eyes brimmed with tears. "You don't trust me?"

"No!" Callie argued. "That's not it. It's just…"

"Callie," Arizona interrupted. "I am _never_ going to hurt you like that again." She swallowed hard. "Ever."

Callie released a shaky breath.

"You do not 'stifle' me, because I love you. And want only you. And want you to be completely mine, and want to be completely yours, forever. I'm never going to cheat on you. I promise."

Callie sighed, nodding fiercely. "You're right!"

Arizona smiled.

"You're right," Callie whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Arizona breathed.

"And I _do_ want to marry you. Really," she smirked. She brought their intertwined palms to her lips, kissing the back of Arizona's hand. "Will you marry me?"

Slowly, a bright smile lit up the blonde's face. "Unlike you, I'm not going to hesitate," she teased. "_Yes_."

* * *

**Prompt: "I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."**

* * *

"Hey," Callie greeted, letting Arizona into the house. "She's almost ready."

"Great," Arizona chirped contently, her eyes instantly cutting towards the fireplace. There, in the center of the mantle, still sat a framed picture of her, Callie, Mark, and baby Sofia. It was always reassuring to see. It pleased her beyond words to know that she meant so much to her ex-wife that a photograph of them was still the centerpiece in the room. They were family, even now.

Noticing Callie's eyes following her gaze, Arizona turned back towards the brunette, offering, "I heard about Penny. I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Callie sighed, looking down. She chuckled darkly. "I'm starting to think the universe doesn't want me to be happy. Something always gets in the way. It's like I don't deserve it."

Arizona furrowed her eyebrows, feeling endless sympathy for the woman who had once been her entire world. Hell, for the woman who _still was_ her entire world, apart from Sofia. "Callie…"

"Hmm?" Callie's head shot up, a sudden challenge for Arizona to say something that would comfort her, somehow.

Arizona exhaled a long breath. "I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."

Callie chuckled darkly. "And how's that?"

Arizona shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. "Brilliant. Miraculous. Breathtakingly stunning." She heard Callie's breath hitch.

"Arizona…"

"I mean, really brilliant," Arizona continued as if she hadn't heard her. "Fascinating. Beautiful," she added shyly.

Callie felt herself staring at her ex-wife: wide eyed. She didn't know how to stop her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to.

"You're not destined for unhappiness," Arizona insisted. "You deserve the best life has to offer."

"So do you," Callie countered. Because it was true. All she'd ever wanted was the best for Arizona.

Arizona smiled but didn't allow Callie's interruption to deter her from her soliloquy. "You deserve happiness and hope. And infinite love. And – when you're ready – I want to give you that."

"Wait…" Callie began, because WHAT? Was she having an aneurysm or had her dreams just come true?

Arizona leaned down, holding her arms out as Sofia came careening towards them. "I missed you, big girl!"


	107. Chapter 107

**HI. Two short, silly AUs I wrote in the car and in class. I miss Grey's!**

* * *

"Hey," Callie greeted anxiously.

Arizona turned to her ex-wife, already smiling. "Calliope! How are you?"

"I'm, um," Callie paused. "I heard you got offered a job as head of pediatrics at Hopkins."

Furrowing her eyebrows at Callie's tone, Arizona nodded. "I did."

Callie gulped. "That's, um," she attempted to smile. "Congratulations."

Callie was happy for her. Of course she was happy for her. Arizona was one of the best surgeons she knew, and she deserved recognition.

But another part of her was hurt, and — more than that — absolutely terrified.  
Arizona hadn't informed her of the news; Callie had learned of the offer from Bailey.

Why hadn't Arizona told her? Was it because they were worlds apart, these days? Or was it because she was going to take it?

Was she leaving?

"Callie…?" Arizona prompted, curiously eyeing her ex-wife's troubled expression.

"I just…" Callie sighed. "I can't stand the thought of losing you."

Arizona's eyebrows jumped towards the ceiling. Whoa.

"I mean," Callie babbled. "I know it's a great job offer. And I know you like Hopkins, and it'd make you happy, and you deserve it! The job, I mean. And happiness. And I know that you'd still be here for Sofia; you'd maybe just have to fly back and forth, and…"

"Callie," Arizona stopped her.

Callie's head shot up, wide eyes and worried lips. "I just…" she pushed forward. "I know we're not, you know, together. So there's nothing to really keep you here, but…" She took a deep breath, her voice becoming small. "I think I'd miss you."

As shocked as Arizona was to hear those words, she didn't hesitate before saying, "I think I'd miss you, too."

"You would?" Callie's breath hitched at the mere idea. Could it be that she wasn't alone in this?

Because she loved Arizona. She _still_ loved Arizona. And she'd tried to date Penny, she'd tried to move on, and then she'd realized: she didn't have to.  
Because Arizona was the person Callie wanted, and she was right in front of her.

And she was leaving.

Arizona nodded. "I already miss you, and you're here. Imagine how it'd be on the other side of the country." She smiled slyly. "The last time I left you for a job, I was miserable. I'm not making that mistake again."

Callie's eyes widened. "You're not leaving?"

Arizona shook her head. "Of course not. My life is here. And Bailey just gave me a raise and both my departments another hundred thousand."

Callie sighed in relief, repeating, "You're not leaving."

No, Arizona wasn't leaving. She didn't want a new job. Not this time.

She wanted to be near her family.

And Callie was her family. And Arizona wanted her back.

Not a new job. Arizona was happy professionally. Now, she only needed to become happy personally. Happy entirely.

"You'd miss me?" Arizona intoned. She hadn't forgotten what Callie had said.

Pausing, Callie explored her ex-wife's face, searching for a hint as to what she was feeling. As usual, Arizona's expression revealed nothing. "I would," she affirmed. "I _do_."

Arizona nodded slowly, attempting to keep her cool as she felt her eyes well with hopeful tears. "Enough?"

Callie's eyes widened. "It's always been enough." How much Callie missed Arizona, loved Arizona, and wanted Arizona was never in question. It was always overwhelming, how much she yearned for the blonde. It was always enough. It was always too much.

But they had been toxic to each other. Their relationship had suffered irreparable damage, and there was no way that they could keep going the way they had been. The relationship as they'd known it had been doomed.  
But now…

A new relationship wasn't doomed. If they were to start again — start afresh — Callie knew they could make it. If they tried, they could make it. They _would _make it.

"It's enough that I want to do something about it," she added. "It's enough that I can't bear to miss you anymore."

Arizona bit her lip, trying to hide her sudden grin. "You love me."

It wasn't a question, but somehow, Callie felt the need to answer. "I do." _I do, I do, I do_. Not 'yeah.' Not 'yes.' _I do_. I did. I do. I will, indefinitely. Callie loved her. Indefinitely. "I love you. And you love me," she smiled. It was true. It had to be.

Arizona nodded. "I do." It was a promise. "I love you, too."

* * *

The first language humans had was gestures. Gestures. A movement of part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning. Gestures conveyed meaning. They always had.

Then, language became more complex. It was spoken. It was written. It was translated. Then, there were thousands. Thousands of languages, none of which that could be understood by all.

Callie said, "I'm selling the house." In her language she meant, "It's too hard. I can't be here without you."

She meant: _I miss you. I miss you. I miss you._

Arizona understood it as, "I'm done. Moved on. It's really over."

And – weeks later – she said, "You can tell me, Callie. You can always tell me." In her language, she meant, "I want to hear about your life. It hurts that we live so separately."

She meant: _I miss you. I miss you. I miss you._

Callie understood it as, "I'm done. Moved on. It doesn't bother me to hear that you have, too."

And that didn't hurt until it _did_.

Language deceived. Language confused.

Except gestures. Gestures were understood by all. Even by those who spoke different languages.

Even by those who didn't know each other anymore, because of the pure confusion of spoken word.

But, at Jo and Alex's wedding, when _their_ song – that special, spectacular song – began to play, Callie and Arizona finally spoke the same language. They finally understood each other.

Because – despite everything, despite the crowd of dozens of people around them – their heads snapped up as the first notes began to play, and they found each other's eyes: warm blue and gentle brown.

And then, as casually and as unthinkingly as ever, they each innately reached out towards the other, motioning towards each other – a silent invitation to come hither, to come closer, to dance and be one. Dodging the crowds of people, they furiously ambled towards each other, their hands shaking with the need to find each other.

Finally, they stood before each other, and they both immediately knew. Even as everything else had dissipated – all the anger, the hurt, the pain – their love had endured.

Their love had _prevailed_. It had proven itself more powerful than opposing forces.

And – so close – they saw each other's breath hitch as they stepped into each other's space for the first time in so long.

It was a gesture they both understood.

Callie offered a hint of a smile, unsure of how to continue. How to ask for what she wanted. How to ensure that Arizona wanted the same.

"Hey," Arizona breathed. "Want to–"

"Yes," Callie immediately finished, her hands finding the blonde's waist as she stepped closer.

Arizona breathed out a sigh of relief as her arms wrapped around Callie's shoulders, pulling their bodies tightly together.

Closing their eyes, they felt the rhythm of each other's speeding heartbeat, and then the change as it slowed to a comforting calm that came with finally – _finally_ – coming home.


	108. Chapter 108

**Hey there!**

**This one's a complete AU. Written after 12x08, set after they get together. Nothing special. I'm just trying to procrastinate on studying for finals.**

* * *

"God! Damnit, Callie!" Arizona slammed her fist against the table, making Callie jump.

She sighed, attempting to pull herself together and quell the sudden anger that was boiling her blood. "You can't keep doing this. You act like you want us to be together, but then we have the tiniest misunderstanding and you run."

"I don't—" Callie defended.

"You do!" Arizona maintained. "It's like you're looking for a reason to give up. It's like you've already decided that we won't work."

Welp, that shut Callie up. Because, maybe, it was a little bit true.

As badly as she wanted her and Arizona to work out – as badly as she wanted to spend her life with the blonde – she was evolved enough to acknowledge that a part of her was still terrified they would fail. Again.

Callie's voice came out softly, its slow cadence mirroring the grandfather's clock in her father's study. "I'm not looking for a reason to give up."

Arizona huffed. She knew that Callie was right, but still, she was frustrated. She hated being the person who gave _more_ in a relationship, and right then, that was how she felt.

Like she wanted Callie more than Callie wanted her.

And she didn't want that. She wanted the comfort that came with living pari passu.

She wanted reassurance. She wanted a promise that she made Callie as happy as Callie made her.

Otherwise, what were they doing there?

"I'm not," Callie swore, pleading with her big brown eyes.

"Okay. Fine." Arizona stood up, but was stopped short when Callie reached out and grabbed her hands.

Callie pulled her back down onto the chair in front of her, adamantly keeping their hands entwined.

She knew that Arizona was annoyed and even more so terrified, and she hated that. She didn't want the woman she loved to question Callie's love for her.

Feeling intense blue eyes on her, Callie finally began, "I _am_ scared." And she was.

Arizona waited.

"I'm scared that love won't be enough again."

Slowly, Arizona nodded. In truth, she was scared, too, but she was done with letting fear hold her back.

"But I'm not looking for a way out, and a bigger part of me _knows_ that we won't fail."

Arizona raised her eyebrows testily. "How do you 'know'?"

Callie smiled wistfully. "Mark used to say that he and Lexie were meant for each other. That they were meant to be."

Arizona's eyes widened.

"And they were. I think they were. And – if they were – then we _definitely_ are. There's no other way to explain how we're so inexplicably drawn to each other. Or how we keep coming back to each other, again and again. And how it's never perfect, but it _is_."

Arizona understood. She felt the exact same way. Not everything was right between them, all the time, but together, everything was _right_. It was strange to think about, but, well, it just was.

"So if I run, I'm going to run right into you, because that's where I belong," Callie concluded, a genuine smile crossing her lips as she watched Arizona sweetly dimple.

Arizona pulled on Callie's arm, holding both their hands over her steady heart. "You _do_ belong here."

Callie shone at her. "I do," she promised. "So we'll be scared together."

Arizona nodded. "Together." Facing their fears as a couple seemed so much better than stepping into the void alone.

"Together. Because my heart is _yours_, Arizona; it's filled with only love for you, and that will never change."


	109. Chapter 109

**A silly AU written on the plane. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey," Callie breathed as she stepped into the elevator.

"Hi," Arizona chirped — a little awkwardly, she knew — as her eyes ran down her ex-wife's curvaceous legs.

Callie stepped beside her, tapping the button for the ground floor. It was three a.m., and she was more than ready to get home to Sofia.

It had been a tough night. She had been paged for several difficult emergency surgeries — the weather was wet and stormy, leaving the roads wet and drivers more susceptible to injury. Much more susceptible, unfortunately. One of the women she had worked on had barely made it off the table because there had been so much blood loss.

"Big storm, huh?" Callie offered, generously ending the lengthy silence that always left her feeling jarred, when it came to Arizona.

Four floors to go. Then she would be able to function again. Then Arizona wouldn't be invading her every sense, forcing her to think and reflect and _feel_.

Feeling about Arizona was hard. It was more than hard. It was unbearable.

Three and a half floors to go.

"Yeah, really b-" Arizona began before, suddenly, she was cut short by the elevator coming to a cacophonous halt, its lights flickering before going out entirely.

Her eyes widened. Power outage, seriously? _Now_? "Really, really big, I guess."

Callie huffed. _Shit_. Getting stuck in a dark elevator with Arizona wasn't something she'd ever even considered might happen, but in that moment, she decided it was her worst nightmare. Damn it.

And Arizona wasn't feeling much better. She'd gotten back to a place where she knew she was hot and knew for a fact that at least several women were "lining up for her," so to speak. But that didn't erase her history with and feelings for Callie.

Callie had been her true love, and — maybe — she had been one of Callie's.

Callie was still her true love, really. Even while so much else had changed.

There was just so much leftover love there. Which could be dangerous in a cold dark elevator.

"Crap," Callie groaned. "Claudia's going to kill me.

Arizona raised her eyebrows, even without knowing whether Callie could see her face. "She's watching Sof this late?"

Callie nodded. "I didn't want to throw her into daycare, and Unibrow's looking for more hours, these days."

Arizona rolled her eyes, even while smiling. She crossed her arms, glaring at her ex-wife. "You _still_ call her that? She waxes now!"

Callie smirked. She had hoped to make Arizona smile and was glad to have succeeded. God, she loved that smile.

"Force of habit."

Arizona shook her head disapprovingly, but Callie caught sight of the twinkle in her eye. "Callie Torres, you are cruel."

Callie laughed. "I know."

Wide brown eyes met playful blue, and for a second, it felt as if everything stood still. As if time stopped. As if nothing else mattered. Just for a moment.

The fact was that both women had learned a lot during the past few years.

In fact, Arizona had learned an entirely new specialty. But she'd also learned her own role in her marriage's disintegration. And how to love herself again.

She'd relearned how to be giving, and generous, and strong.

On the surface, it may have seemed as if she had returned to the person who had walked through the door of that dirty bar bathroom all those years before, but she wasn't. She was a person capable of so much more.

She had grown immensely, and she knew that. She was stronger, and better, and just...different. Different for the better, but different nonetheless.

And Callie was different, too. She'd done some serious soul-searching, too.

She had once hoped that ending their marriage would in turn end her own pain. Immediately. But it hadn't. Her pain over her life, her life with Arizona, and their own shared hardships had endured for a long time thereafter. The pain had subsided, but slowly. Too slowly. More slowly than she had expected.

She had put far too much blame on Arizona, who hadn't deserved it. Callie knew that now. So many things had been outside of their control but had affected their life together. It was no one's fault. She knew that now.

Callie had also learned an important lesson from Penny, the woman with whom she had once (erroneously) foreseen a future.

Penny has reminded her that not every relationship was superb enough to be long-lasting and beautiful, the way hers had been with Arizona. That — maybe — some relationships and people acted as reminders of what matters. As lessons of how to be better.

If nothing else, that's what Penny had given Callie. Honest self-awareness of both her flaws and her strengths. A reminder of what she admired in people.

Callie admired strength. And resilience. And intelligence. And a sense of humor.

She admired people who could go through Hell and come out on the other side: not unscathed, but having earned their own self-awareness and endless strength.

Callie watched her ex-wife — eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed — futilely press the elevator buttons, attempting in vain to get them out.

She raised her eyebrows. "Arizona, the power's out. It's useless."

"I know," Arizona huffed. Callie was right. "But there might be more kids down there. So I'm trying, anyway."

Callie smiled softly. "It won't help. We should just sit down and wait for them to get the power back on."

Arizona pouted out her lower lip, grumbling, "Fine."

Callie offered out her hand, chuckling when Arizona looked down at it with wide eyes. "The floor's a long way down," she explained.

"Oh," Arizona understood, suddenly thankful. Indeed it was. She wouldn't be able to sit very gracefully on the floor with her prosthesis and no help. "Thanks."

Callie twinkled at her, wiggling her long fingers to encourage the blonde to take the proffered hand.

Feeling a shiver run up her spine in anticipation, Arizona grabbed her ex-wife's caramel hand, instantaneously intertwining their palms.

God. Callie's skin felt like home.

After all, it _had_ been home once. Arizona had made Callie's skin and body her home. It was where she had most wanted to go when life got hard. Not to her parents' house or to her and Callie's old apartment or house, but instead: to wherever Callie was.

Arizona hadn't even cared where. She had just known that she was home when she was with Callie.

It was both that simple and that inexplicable. Because she could always buy her parents' old house after they were gone, or her old apartment or house, but she couldn't do anything about the fact that she was no longer welcome with Callie.

She'd had to make an entirely new home for herself alone (sigh...and with Dirty Delucca), and sometimes, it still didn't feel right or complete.

It felt like somewhere to keep refuge until, one day, she would find a place — or, well, a person — that would truly feel like home again.

Arizona slowly lowered herself onto the cold floor, and Callie immediately sat beside her, sighing contently.

Neither woman seemed to notice that their hands were still entwined.

"This is kind of nice, if you think about it," Callie offered after a quiet minute.

Arizona turned to face her, silently urging the brunette to continue.

"It's a break from everything," Callie explained. "It's like it's just us, and there's no outside world."

Arizona closed her eyes, attempting to enjoy the moment. "It is nice," she hummed contently, leaning her head back against the elevator wall.

Callie silently watched her, giving herself a little time to take in the blonde's undeniable beauty. She couldn't help but take advantage of the moment, knowing that her ex-wife couldn't see her.

Arizona comfortingly squeezed Callie's hand, then her eyes popped open as she came to a realization that they were still touching. How had she not noticed?

"I- I'm sorry." She quickly released Callie's hand, her own hovering in midair as she decided where to set it down. Finally, she settled on placing it on her own thigh.

Better. Her own body warmth felt like a cheap substitute for Callie's, but it was something.

"Oh!" Callie jumped. How had she not realized they'd still been touching? "It's fine. I mean, I didn't mind."

Even in the darkness, Arizona could have sworn she saw Callie's cheeks redden as she continued.

"You're warm."

Arizona's eyebrows shot up as she attempted to read her ex-wife's face. After a long silent moment passed, she held her hand out towards her. "I didn't mind, either."

"You sure?" Callie's voice sounded breathy.

Dimpling, Arizona nodded reassuringly. "You can even sit a little closer, if you want. I don't want you to be cold." And that was the truth. Her and Callie's love had always been selfless. They had always preferred to endure each other's pain than let the one they loved suffer.

Deciding she had nothing to lose — after all, they were stuck in a dark elevator and had very little comfort within the chrome space — Callie accepted Arizona's porcelain hand, and even scooted a few inches closer.

Which was close enough, apparently, for their shoulders and arms to brush. And, almost simultaneously, they each leaned into the touch, reveling in it.

Callie closed her eyes, and Arizona exhaled a long, calming breath. "Better."

Callie nodded in agreement.

Arizona smiled. Callie had always been good at keeping her warm, and she was devoted to providing the same level of care at any chance she had. Unthinkingly, her thumb began rubbing soothing circles against the back of a caramel hand, and Callie felt her stomach flutter.

Somehow, though the feeling should have been unnerving, it completely calmed her. Callie felt sated. Having butterflies around Arizona was such a familiar feeling — though often willfully ignored — and it felt almost...homey.

With Arizona, she associated the feeling with comfort, trust, and love.

A minute later, Arizona at last decided to be honest. To talk to Callie. To use their less-than-ideal situation (she would have greatly preferred to _not_ be stuck in an elevator) for good. "Callie?"

Arizona's whispery voice was so breathy and haunting that Callie stiffened as her eyes flew open.

Arizona was looking at her intently. Intensely. With a tenderness that no one had ever been able to recreate.

Arizona took a deep breath. "You're the one."

Boom.

A beat of silence. Then, the almost expected: "What?"

What was Arizona talking about? What did that even mean?

Arizona smiled patiently. She knew Callie. "You are...the one," she repeated. "My one real, true love. It's you. It's only you. It's always you."

Callie gaped at her. Not speaking. Not running. Not breathing, either.

"And I know you," she continued. "I know the depth of your ability to love. You have _so_ much love to give, and I know you don't believe in one singular soulmate."

It was true. Callie believed in love and second, and third, and fourth, and fifth chances. She believed in hope and redemption. And Arizona knew it. Arizona knew _her_.

Arizona knew her.

"But you believe in me. And...I don't know. _I_ think there might be one person out there who we're meant to love forever. And...I believe you're that person for me."

She nervously licked her lips, nodding solemnly as she continued. "You are _the one_, Calliope. And I'm the one for you."

Callie felt her breath hitch, a silent sob catching in her throat. "You...you're saying we're made for each other."

Arizona passionately kept their eyes locked. "We are."

Callie expelled a shaky breath.

God. She'd loved Arizona, and she'd lost Arizona. She'd had her heart broken, and she was sure that she'd broken Arizona's. In their selfless attempts to put the other's happiness before their own, they had hurt each other. Again and again.

And then they had lost each other. A person could not understand the pain of losing someone they were still in love with unless they had experienced it personally.

It was incomprehensible, that kind of pain. Callie had felt it radiating out her fingers and toes. It had seeped through her skin, invading her entire world. It had dissolved her heart for a long, long time.

She had been in love with Arizona, and she had left. For Arizona.

And Arizona hadn't called after her. Not because she hadn't wanted to, but for _her_.

They always put each other's happiness first.

And, sometimes, the other's potential happiness and their own coincided.

So Arizona clearly believed that she could make Callie happiest, and that Callie could do the same for her.

And she was right. In her heart, Callie knew Arizona was right.

Arizona prodded Callie's shining eyes, anxiously awaiting some sort of answer.

Callie's lips quirked up, her features relaxingly settling against her face as the worry disappeared. "You're right. I don't believe in singular soulmates." She paused.

"At least...I _didn't_."

Arizona felt her heart take off in her chest, butterflies suddenly rampant not only within her, but all around her. Everywhere.

"But I'm in love with you," Callie continued, wanting to give Arizona the same sense of warmth, and safety, and love that she'd just received. "I'm always in love with you. I can't not be. Even if we didn't get stuck in this elevator and didn't talk and never repaired things between us, I'd keep loving you. You're the one I want to make happy, and the one I want making me happy."

"Me, too," Arizona agreed.

Callie openly explored Arizona's face, knowing that a "perfect person" would pale next to her.

Callie had wanted to marry the perfect, free-of-flaws knight in shining armor when she was younger. Even in recent months, she'd dreamed about it.

Now, she knew that Arizona was better.

She wasn't perfect, but she was exactly what Callie wanted and needed.

And Callie was what Arizona wanted and needed. Callie was so perfectly imperfect and different from her that they complemented each other. It was as if together — and only together — they were complete. Blissfully, beautifully complete.

"I want us to spend the rest of our lives together." Arizona felt like she had to say it. Even after everything, she wanted to be clear. She wanted more than this half hour of elevator honesty with Callie. She wanted a life.

"We will," Callie promised. All she ever wanted was a long, happy life with Arizona. Now, she was more sure than ever that that was what she would get. She smiled shyly. "And it's true."

Arizona knit her eyebrows together.

"I was made...for you."

* * *

**Okay, so this one was (obviously) inspired by Sara Ramirez and Brandi Carlile. Also! I've attempted to write WHY AZ cheated / Callie left every possible way I could think of - why what happened, happened, and so far, this idea is my favorite for the latter scenario:**

**Callie and Arizona have always - for the most part - loved each other selflessly. **

**Callie waited up for Arizona in 6x08 even though she thought AZ might be mad.**

**Arizona came home to Callie's in 6x20 even though she was definitely mad.**

**Callie tried to not want kids. Arizona insisted they break up because she didn't want to be the one to keep Callie from having a baby.**

**Callie immediately protected AZ from the shooter.**

**Callie agreed to go to Africa even though she didn't want to. Arizona knew that she was miserable and ended things.**

**Arizona came back.**

**The list goes on, and on, and on, and on.**

**So, with this idea in mind: **

**Callie left that room for Arizona. Callie thought Arizona would be happier if she walked away and they stopped running in circles. Callie loved her, so she let her go.**

**And Arizona didn't stop her for Callie. She thought Callie would be happier without her, so she didn't call after her. She didn't run after her. She didn't scream "NO!" at the top of her lungs, even though she wanted to. Arizona loved her, so she let her go.**

**I know it's not, like, super realistic. But! It's the sweetest explanation I've been able to come up with thus far, so I'm sticking with it.**


	110. Chapter 110

**Another quick reunion fic. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Callie," Arizona greeted.

Eyebrows raising, Callie looked towards her ex-wife. "Hey," she smiled.

Arizona gulped, stepping closer to the brunette. "I, um. Your hair looks really pretty today."

God. She had no idea what to say. She had no idea how to talk to Callie anymore. It had been so long.

Still, she looked over Callie's shoulder and gained a sense of confidence when she saw Webber offering her a thumbs up in the distance.

She could do this. She could tell Callie how she felt. She could give them another shot.

"Um, thank you?" Callie tittered awkwardly. She was more than a little surprised that Arizona had approached her, not to mention that she had offered a compliment.

Unconcerned, Arizona continued on her mission. "Are you leaving right now?"

"Yeah, I left Sof at home with the sitter. Are you?"

Arizona nodded. "Come on. I'll walk you to your car." She held her breath, anxiously awaiting her ex-wife's reaction. She knew Callie must have been confused, given that they had very rarely spoken during the past few months - and years - but Arizona was determined to express how she felt.

She was in love with Callie. Still. She had attempted to move on with little success, finding no one she was interested in connecting with.

She knew what she wanted. She knew who she wanted.

Callie.

So she was taking the steps to tell her, and - maybe, just maybe - win her back.

"Sure;" Callie chirped. The comment from the blonde was more than a little odd, given their recent history, but it was nice, too.

Side-by-side, they walked into the parking lot.

Knowing that Arizona'd had a long day, Callie slowed her stride so that the shorter woman could keep up with her even with her prosthesis.

Arizona forced herself to take a few slow deep breaths, preparing to talk to Callie - seriously.

Beside her, Callie inconspicuously watched Arizona. The rumormill had been turning like crazy when it came to the blonde.

Some people had been saying that Arizona had seduced all the female nurses. Others had said she was having an affair with Richard (what the?). Others claimed that she had "found God" and was entirely celibate (again, what the hell?). Callie was eager to hear the real story, but she knew better than to ask.

As much as she wanted to know everything about Arizona these days, she also wasn't sure she'd like what she heard. Because, even then, the thought of Arizona sleeping with other women made Callie sick to her stomach.

It didn't make sense, but - well - it was how she felt.

They stopped when they reached Callie's car, each woman turning to face the other.

"Well, I…"

"Callie," Arizona interrupted.

Callie's eyes widened in anticipation.

"I, um."

"You met someone, didn't you?" Callie interrupted. "You're seeing someone."

"What? No!"

"Is it a nurse?" Callie pressed. "Oh, God, is it Colleen?"

"Callie!"

But Callie was just getting started. Suddenly, all her insecurities were at the surface of her consciousness, and she couldn't stop.

Arizona wanted to tell her that she'd moved on entirely, right?

Even though Arizona obviously had every reason to no longer even consider their ancient marriage, the prospect suddenly terrified Callie. It was unbearable, the thought of Arizona no longer having any lasting feelings for her.

"Or are you-"

"Callie!" Arizona exclaimed. "For one second, can you stop making assumptions and just listen?"

Well, that shut Callie up. Arizona hadn't totally exploded the way she might have several years ago, though. Though her voice had been stern, she offered Callie a kind, apologetic smile even as the words passed her lips.

"Please?"

Slowly, Callie nodded. "I'm sorry. I was…rambling."

Arizona smirked. "I noticed."

Callie closed her eyes, taking a deep, calming breath. "I'm listening."

Penny, her ex-girlfriend, had taught her how much she really needed to learn to listen.

Callie had learned a lot in the past few years. So, in that moment, she was ready to listen to the woman who she still cared about most.

Arizona's lips turned up. "Thank you."

Callie waited.

Arizona sighed. Why was saying her truth so hard? She knew she was a catch. She was confident around every other woman.

But Callie wasn't just any woman. Callie was the woman Arizona loved.

Finally, she began, "I know…we don't talk much, these days."

Callie nodded. It was true. Avoiding each other had been easier.

"But," Arizona sighed. "Calliope…"

Callie felt her heart take off in her chest. Suddenly, she was feverish. Suddenly, she wasn't breathing.

"I still find you miraculous. Breathtakingly stunning, inside and out. Even now, I can't stop looking at you."

Seriously. Callie wasn't breathing.

"And I have no idea where you're at with us. With everything. But I just wanted you to know that my love for you hasn't gone anywhere." She paused. "I love you as much as I always have. More," she corrected.

"You…still love me?" Callie repeated. God, she was dense. She knew it. But she needed confirmation. She needed to understand.

Not even a beat passed before Arizona confirmed, "Yes." It was true. She was still in love with Callie. She was sure of it. She felt it in her bones.

Callie looked into the never ending depths of Arizona's cerulean blue eyes, overcome with the same feeling herself.

She was utterly, without a doubt, completely in love with the woman standing before her. And she'd known it forever.

Even while attempting to love others, she'd always known that - in her heart - she loved Arizona, too. And that she always would.

"I find you," she began. But, suddenly, she didn't know how to finish. She couldn't find the words. She was overwhelmed by the relief and tears that threatened to consume her.

Arizona's breath hitched in expectation. She knew that Callie's response had the power to set her free or destroy her entirely. And all she could do was wait.

"God, Arizona," Callie shook her head, overwhelmed by how deeply she truly loved the woman standing before her. "You're the most amazing person I've ever known."

And it was true. She admired both Arizona's head and her heart immeasurably. Arizona was just…

For Callie, she was the good.

"And I love you, too," she whispered.

Briefly, blue eyes bulged. But, seconds later, the blonde was too overcome with joy and relief to hold back her emotion, and her eyes filled with tears.

And, both unable to stop herself and no longer seeing a need to, Callie's arms instantly wrapped around the shorter woman. She pulled Arizona as tightly against herself as she could, shivering at the feeling and at the warmth of the woman she had ached for for so long.

Arizona's arms immediately slung around Callie's back, holding on for dear life as she inhaled the sweet scent of the woman she loved.

"So what do we do now?" Callie asked as they pulled away, minutes later. "Go back to where we were?"

Arizona shook her head. "We start fresh."

And, with that, she put her hands Callie's waist and finally pulled her in for a kiss.


	111. Chapter 111

**Prompt: "How can you think I'm anything but hopelessly in love with you?" (Set post-S11)**

**I wrote most of this on September 6th (before S12 even started!) and only now rediscovered it / finished it. Hope you like it!**

* * *

"Arizona..." Callie shook her head. "We can't get into this. What's the use of talking about it all now?"

"I want to know," Arizona insisted. "I just don't get it. I still don't get it. Why did you walk away during that last therapy session? The night before...I thought everything was good between us. I thought it was going to be."

"It wasn't," Callie whispered, looking down. "You had stopped loving me."

Arizona's eyebrows flew up to her hairline. That was the last thing she'd expected Callie to say. It was so erroneous that she wasn't even sure she had heard correctly. "I..._what_?"

Callie's head shot up and she met confused blue eyes. "You did! You kept saying you loved me and _needed_ me, but you never showed it. You'd say all these beautiful words, but I never _felt_ it. We just kept having the same arguments, and I kept compromising for you. Over and over again. I was trying so hard to keep us both standing upright, and I felt like you didn't help at all. Like you didn't care."

Arizona couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe Callie had felt that way and that she'd never known it. "How can you think I'm anything but hopelessly in love with you?"

Callie's eyes widened. Arizona had said _I'm_. Present tense. _I'm in love with you_. Had she meant to? Did she mean it? "No..." Callie argued.

Arizona fished through her pockets, pulling out a wad of ink-stained paper. "I cared," she insisted. "I care. Here," she handed the pieces of paper to Callie.

Callie knit her eyebrows together. "What's this?"

"A list," Arizona explained. "Of everything I love about you. I started it in therapy. I've been adding to it since. I didn't want to forget. I've already been forgetting."

Callie turned the folded paper over, suddenly noticing her ex-wife's messy scrawl covering every surface of the white printer paper.

Arizona's beeper exploded with an obnoxious bell sound. "Shoot," she swore. She looked up at Callie apologetically. "I have to go. But we're going to talk later," she added ominously.

Callie nodded, watching her ex-wife stalk away to go save a sick kid's life, most likely. Then, looking back down at the thick wad of papers her hands were cradling, she curiously unfolded them, eager to see what Arizona had been talking about.

And, there, written neatly on the first piece of paper was:

_When you talk to a patient, and it's like they're the only person in the whole world._

_You bite your lip when you study scans._

_When you read to Sofia._

_Your smile._

_Your laugh._

_When you sing in the shower._

_The way you crack yourself up with one of your awful corny jokes._

_The way you wrap your arms around me while you sleep._

_How much you care. About everything._

_Your shoulders. Your arms._

Callie's eyes widened as she continued to read. Those were clearly the first ten reasons she'd named, but there were dozens more scrawled across the page.

_Your legs in tight skirts. How amazing you are with kids. Your obsession with leather jackets. Your magical eyes. Your fear of public speaking (it's really cute). Your integrity. How much you love helping people. How protective you are. Your thick hair. The way you dance. Your hands. The way you moan a little when you sip coffee, or when you__ used to wake up to me kissing you, or when you get a foot rub. How you help everyone you meet be __better__. _

On the back, the writing continued, getting progressively messier, as if Arizona was desperate to get it all down before she forgot.

_The way you smell. Your idealism. Your innocence. Your honesty. How genuine you are (do you have any idea of how rare that is?). How you think you're badass, when you're really so girly. How much you love Sofia. _

_Your name. _

_Calliope, I love your name. _

_When you __used to speak Spanish in bed. Your confidence in yourself. Your confidence in me. How perfectly your body always __used to fit with mine. Your skin. Your cute little sneeze. _

_Your lips. I could go on about your lips forever. _

_How soft you are. Your mind. Your idea of camping (glamping). Your taste in music. Your strength. _

Callie kept flipping through the papers, skipping ahead, seeing just how much her ex-wife had written. There must have been ten double-sided pages, each completely filled with her tiny scribble.

_The way you__ used to smile every time I walked into the room. How thoughtful you are. When you would reach for my hand under the table when we used to sit together at boring board meetings. How much you like baby showers. And pizza. The way you always smile at everyone on the street. How much you know about cars. The way you used to insist on making our bed every single morning. How quickly you got my parents to fall in love with you. Your __light__. The way you pout when you don't get your way. The way you __loved me._

Callie felt tears sting her eyes. Clearly, Arizona had loved her. Arizona did love her.

Present tense.

She hadn't shown it, but Arizona loved her. There was no way Callie could deny it now.

Arizona had loved her before, but now, things were somehow different. What had changed?

Callie hurried to the Peds floor, quickly tracking down Alex in the NICU.

"Where's Arizona?" she barked. She wanted to talk to her ex-wife. She needed to.

"She's in surgery," Alex defended, alarmed by his friend's tone of voice. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Callie shook her head. "When will she be done?"

Alex shrugged. "'Few hours. You can wait."

Callie nodded, sitting down in the chair beside him and anxiously bouncing her knees, still clutching the papers.

"Not _here_," he said.

Callie sighed. "Fine. Page me when she's done."

Already off duty, Callie didn't know what to do with herself while she waited. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know anything.

She loved Arizona. She had always loved Arizona. That wasn't the problem.

The problem was that Arizona didn't love her. At least, that's what Callie had thought.

But now, nothing made sense.

She paced back and forth, trying to decipher her thoughts. She was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with the thought of Arizona still loving her and what that meant.

She wanted the blonde. Of course she did. She'd learned her lesson with George, and when she'd married Arizona, she'd been _committed_. She was prepared to love her for _life_.

Forever.

And, unfortunately, whether or not they ever got back together, she always _had. _And she knew that she always would.

But she had spent the past two and a half years trying to accept the fact that they were over. That her relationship with the love of her life had ended. Permanently. Because, while Arizona was the love of _her_ life, Callie wasn't the love of Arizona's.

That was what Callie had been drilling into her brain. But had she been wrong?

Callie had walked away, and Arizona hadn't stopped her. What had changed?

She sat down, putting her head in her hands. Worrying and wondering wouldn't help. She needed to talk to her ex-wife.

Eventually, her pager went off: Alex was paging her to the Peds ward.

"Shit," she muttered, her stomach bottoming out. She felt like she might be sick.

Callie raced through the hallway, looking for her ex-wife and not finding her anywhere.

Finally, she threw open an on-call room door, and there Arizona was, practically wringing her hands together in worry and expectation.

"Hi," the blonde peeped.

"Hi," Callie breathed. She held up the papers. "Can we talk about this?"

"Yeah," Arizona sighed. Talking about it was the best possible outcome she could have expected, after all. "Do you want to sit?"

Callie shook her head maniacally. The fact was, she wasn't sure if she _could _sit. She could feel her entire body humming, shaking, thrumming, and sitting did not seem like a viable option.

"Okay," Arizona nodded. In truth, she wasn't sure that she could sit, either. She was suddenly overcome with overwhelming panic and struggled to keep her breathing in check. She could feel her heart thumping in her ears.

Callie just looked at her ex-wife expectantly, and Arizona realized that the brunette was waiting for her to say something. "What do you want me to say?"

Callie looked at her seriously. "Whatever you want me to hear. This is me, giving you space to be honest. I won't interrupt."

"No pressure," Arizona muttered under her breath.

Callie leveled a serious look at her.

Arizona exhaled heavily, preparing herself for the uncertainty of what was to come. "I want to be a family again," she offered simply.

Callie nodded slowly. She had guessed that much.

"I want us to be 'us.' I want us to be 'us,' again. And I want us to love each other. Forever."

"I think..." Callie paused, meeting Arizona's carefully expectant eyes. "Well, don't we?" She motioned towards the lengthy list. "I was wrong, right? You love me."

Arizona felt a gust of wind flow through her abdomen, her heart pitter-pattering in her chest. "I do. I always have. What about you?"

With a soft smile crossing her features, Callie whispered, "Of course I do, Arizona. I always have, and I tried not to, but..." she shrugged helplessly. "I need to love you like I need air. It feels like it's the way the universe meant us to be."

Arizona nodded. She understood. Better than Callie might ever know. "It is. And maybe I forgot how to show it, but I remember now, Calliope. All I remember is how to love you."

Callie felt a coy smile sprout on her lips. "How?"

Arizona raised her eyebrows, surprised by the challenge but not unprepared. "Well," she began, taking a tiny step closer to the taller woman and reveling in the way Callie's breath hitched. "To start, by telling you that you're beautiful."

Callie inhaled a deep breath. She was certain that nothing could feel more incredible than the one she loved proving just how much that love was shared. "And I am so in awe of you, every day. And I-"

Before Arizona could even go on and physically _tell_ Callie everything she loved about her, the woman standing in front of her grabbed her face, tenderly forcing a meeting of their lips.

Finally.

Blissfully.

Arizona melted into her. They melted into each other, for what felt like a lifetime. A long, flawlessly perfect lifetime.

Finally, Arizona pulled back, breathing, "I was getting to that." She felt dizzy. God, she'd ached for this for so long.

Callie grinned at the blonde's dreamy expression, ducking her head to drop another quick kiss on soft pink lips. "I know you were. I couldn't wait."

Arizona exhaled a long, accomplished breath, thinking about the impending years to come, and how they would spend them together.

"I can't, either."

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**Please let me know what you think!**


	112. Chapter 112

**Something super quick inspired by Parenthood. Heheh. I had a spare moment today. Sorry that it's a little boring, but I hope it reminds you that Calzona are still MFEO!**

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There, with Arizona standing beside her in the scrub room as they both scrubbed out, Callie couldn't stay silent any longer.

"Arizona?" Under the running water, she continued to scrub beneath her fingernails, never letting up on the rhythmic task.

Arizona glanced up, greeting Callie with a wavering smile.

It had been two years since their brutal – though amicable divorce – and, still, she could easily do surgery with Callie. She could eat lunch with her and their friends. She could even gossip with her about the trivial stuff. Actually _talking_, though, was something she wasn't sure she could do.

Callie exhaled an uneasy breath. God. She didn't know how to tell Arizona how she felt. How could she? She had been the one to walk away. She couldn't just say she wanted Arizona back. Not after two years. But it had taken two years for her wounds to heal – over the plane crash, and the cheating, and everything.

And she had realized that she still wanted Arizona. Or, well, she wanted her again.

Because they had both had time to heal. So, maybe, they could start again. Maybe, just maybe, they could start anew. "I think…" She paused. "I think I have something to tell you."

Arizona's eyebrows flew up, and she began to worry her bottom lip between her pearl teeth. "About?" What could Callie have to say? Was it about someone she was dating?

"Us," Callie confided.

Arizona shut off the water. Welp. They were talking. And, as much as Arizona dreaded it, in part, she was also grateful for it. There was a lot she had realized over the past two years. And there was so much she wanted to say.

Feeling her heart slamming sporadically against her ribs, Callie turned towards Arizona, mentally preparing herself to continue.

Arizona faced her, both of their postures revealing their openness and trust in the other. Neither was closed off, neither's arms crossed, neither's stance defensive. They were scared, sure, but strong. Neither was willing to back down from whatever came next.

Finally, Callie offered, "Two years ago, we went to marriage counseling."

Arizona gulped.

"And we ended up fighting with each other more than fighting _for_ each other," Callie continued, gaining confidence. "And maybe we should have fought harder, and maybe I should regret that we didn't, but I don't."

What was Callie saying? Arizona had thought, just for a second, that the woman she loved – and had realized she still wanted – might have felt the same. But if Callie didn't regret walking away… "Callie."

Callie's receptive eyes shot up to baby blues, her mouth shutting abruptly as she paused her own soliloquy to allow Arizona to speak.

"I don't regret that you left, either," Arizona asserted. And she didn't. It was only long after their divorce that she had realized how much she truly wanted and wanted to prioritize Callie. It had allowed her to focus on herself and then discover what she really wanted. "And…" She paused, carefully gauging the brunette's indecipherable expression. "Now, I still have some fight in me."

Eyes widening in understanding, Callie breathed, "Me, too." Then, she clarified, "I mean, for you. Not with you. I don't want to fight with you."

Slowly, two dimples bloomed on pink cheeks as she marveled at the woman in front of her. "Yeah?"

Callie nodded. "I just…what I've ultimately learned is that I don't want to live without you, Arizona. Not another second. I've loved other people in my life, I know, but it's never, ever compared to how I love you. So I want to fight for you, and I want to fight for our marriage. I want you back."

Arizona felt her throat go dry. She couldn't even comprehend how incredible it felt that they were both on the same page. That they both had the same priorities. Finally. That they both realized how much they loved the other. "I want _you_ back, too. You're the only one I ever want."


	113. Chapter 113

**Written after 12x08. Way AU. Just something to provide everyone with a few minutes of entertainment!**

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"Arizona, what are you doing?" Callie demanded. She didn't like the uncertainty that came with Arizona's sudden interest in her. She didn't like Arizona talking to her again, or smiling at her, or acting as if they ever meant anything to each other.

She had grown accustomed to their habit of – for the most part – ignoring one another. That had been comfortable. The compliments, the coffees, and the gorgeous, gorgeous smiles, however, were not.

They made everything confusing. They made Callie question everything. And that terrified her.

"Huh?" Arizona balked, surprised by her ex-wife's harsh words.

Callie huffed and led them into the nearest on-call room to avoid making a scene. She slammed the door behind them, facing Arizona head on. "What the hell are you _doing_?" she repeated, her voice raising in volume in the protection of the small room.

With wide eyes, Arizona scraped up the strength to tell Callie the truth. To really tell her. Hiding was exhausting. She didn't want to hide anything, anymore. She wanted to get everything out. What did she have to lose?

"Well?" Callie demanded, fearful anger clear in her scolding voice.

Which only served to anger Arizona. There she was – attempting to follow her heart and show Callie how much she loved her – and Callie wouldn't accept it. "I'm trying to love you!" she exclaimed impatiently. "Why won't you let me?"

Well, those words served to make every bit of fury and annoyance to fall from Callie's face as she stiffened. She stared at Arizona, wide eyed and stunned into silence. "_What_?"

Arizona released a huff of hot air, forcing herself to calm down. She didn't want to be angry. She didn't want Callie to be angry. She just wanted them to love each other, again. "I'm so much more than the person I was when we divorced," she whispered. It was the truth. She hadn't been fully healed, then, and she had been fearful to go after what she had wanted.

Now, though, she was healed. Entirely. She had recovered from the plane crash and her subsequent PTSD, and her life was _perfect_. Almost. It was missing one, irreplaceable aspect: Callie.

And, now, she was ready to tell Callie that. And to _show_ Callie just how much she wanted her, and just how committed she truly was. If Callie would only listen.

"Me, too…" Callie began, her voice unsure.

"Right," Arizona smiled patiently. "We both are. We're better. Stronger. And I know what I want. Do you?"

Callie shrugged. Since her breakup with Penny, she had done a fair amount of soul-searching. For a long time, she had been unsure of her desires, but more recently, she knew. She wanted to continue to make discoveries in her work; she wanted to continue to help amputees; she wanted to surround herself with worthy friends; she wanted to spend time with Sofia; and she wanted someone who loved her fully, and selflessly, and completely. The way Arizona once had.

"Yeah," she finally conceded. "I do."

Arizona nodded, her eyes locked with Callie's. "Do you want to know what I want?"

Callie felt her heart begin to beat faster in her chest. Of course she wanted to know. She wanted to know Arizona's every thought – she always had – but the blonde had rarely been open to sharing. Innately, Arizona had always been such a conundrum, and Callie had always been eager to learn anything the blonde had been willing to share. And that hadn't changed. Even now.

Exhaling a long breath, Callie nodded in surrender. Yes. She wanted to know.

Arizona smiled softly, pleased that Callie hadn't completely rejected her. Then, she felt her heart stop beating as she uttered her truth: "I want to be with the love of my life," she admitted. "I want you."

Arizona paused. Callie gaped. A pager went off – neither woman knew whose. A siren sounded outside.

And, when Callie still didn't say anything a second later, Arizona rambled, "And I know it comes as a surprise. I mean, we've been divorced for two years, and I never said anything, and you've moved on, and—"

"I haven't," Callie interrupted. Her voice was low but sure.

"You…?" Arizona stopped short, needing more words than that to make sense of Callie's meaning.

Callie's lips lifted into something between a smirk and a sneer – as if she was both pleased and disappointed by the truth in her claim. "There's no moving on from you, Arizona," she admitted. "Ever."

"I…" Arizona paused, a breath hissing from her lips as her eyes traveled over Callie's honest face. "Yeah," she finally breathed. "You, either. And…everything went wrong before – and both of us loved each other so much, but couldn't stand the hopeless cycle we were stuck in," she continued. "And we broke free."

Callie nodded. It had been the hardest thing she had ever done, but she had known that one of them needed to break the vicious cycle of pain and blame.

"And we've changed," Arizona repeated. "And while – still – all I want is for you to be happy, now I think that _I'm_ the one who can help _make_ you the happiest." She was confident that she and Callie could be their happiest together. The way they used to be. But better. And so, _so_ much stronger.

"I love you," she promised, her eyes filling with inevitable tears. Love, love, love, love, love. She loved Callie. She loved her. The thought consumed her mind. Constantly. It filled her. "And I've been trying to show you," she continued. "To remind you. To do what I can – smile at you, bring you coffee, compliment you – to make you happy. To show you how miraculous you are, and how miraculous I find you. Still. Always."

With her heart exploding in her chest and her roseate cheeks flushing, an astonished smile slowly came across her lips. Arizona still loved her. And always. Fully, and selflessly, and completely. Undeniably.

She wasn't just a person who loved Callie the way she wanted to be loved. She was the person Callie wanted to be loved _by_.

Callie hadn't allowed herself to want Arizona in so long. She hadn't allowed herself to want Arizona's _love_ in so long. Not since she thought she could no longer make the blonde happy. Wanting had been futile.

She remembered a conversation she had once had with her father. He had gruffly asked: _Does she make you happy?_

And Callie had laughed. The mere thought of Arizona had made her happy. _Yes, Dad. She makes me very happy._

It had been true all those years ago. And it was true in that moment.

Arizona made her very happy. Arizona made her happiest. And – though Arizona also had the power to hurt her more than anyone – maybe the pain was worth the risk. Because happiness with Arizona was a certainty. And Arizona seemed committed to bringing Callie that happiness. More than ever before, she seemed committed.

It had taken two years, but Arizona had healed. She had figured out what she wanted. She had figured out what and whom she wanted to put energy into. She had figured out what made her happy, and who _she_ wanted to make happy: Callie.

And Callie knew she wanted Arizona. In that moment, she knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life making Arizona happy. She wanted them to be happy together.

She shook her head, staring into Arizona's eyes in wonder. She felt as if she could marvel at her forever. And it thrilled her that – soon – she'd be able to.

"I'll let you love me. For the rest of our lives," Callie began, a smile teasing her lips. "As long as you let me love you back just as much."

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**Please let me know what you think!**


	114. Chapter 114

**Something quick! Written after 12x08. Trying to keep everyone's Calzona hopes up!**

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Callie and Arizona had gotten tangled up in each other again. Neither woman was sure of how it happened; it just had. Arizona had gone over to Callie's that evening to pick up Sofia, and Callie had invited her in. Then, she had stayed for dinner. And she had stayed for dessert. And she had stayed for longer.

And, there she was, lying beside Callie in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar house, with an unfamiliar feeling consuming her.

She was in unfamiliar territory. She had just hooked up with her ex, and it had been…positively blissful. Extraordinary, even. Really, really good.

Because she trusted Callie now. And – from the way Callie had touched her – Arizona sensed that Callie trusted her again, too. They had both relinquished control to the other, and it had been okay. It had been good, in fact.

Really, really, _really_ good.

But it was unfamiliar territory, and she didn't know what to do next. She didn't know how to ask Callie what she wanted, or how to tell Callie what _she_ wanted.

She didn't know how to say that she wanted Callie. And she certainly didn't know how to apologize for old hurts and assure the other woman – the woman she loved – that she would never hurt her that way again. She didn't know how to say any of it. It had been so long since they'd truly talked.

Finally, deciding she had to say _something_, she turned towards Callie. The brunette's eyes were already fixed on her, a blissed-out, contented smile still teasing her lips.

Callie wasn't sure how she'd managed to get Arizona into bed that evening, but she was grateful she had. During the past several months, her deep, lasting feelings for the blonde had returned. _Hard_. And she'd had the sneaking suspicion that Arizona had been in a similar position; the last hour had only affirmed her speculation, and Callie had never been more thankful for being right.

And she wanted more. She wanted to forgive, to move on from the past, and to move forward with the future – with Arizona.

"Callie," Arizona whispered, seeking out shining brown eyes in the dark of the night.

Callie turned towards her, her eyes instinctively widening with expectation and hope.

"I…" Arizona didn't know how to say everything she needed to say. She didn't know how to express how she felt. What she wanted and needed. How deeply she loved Callie.

Callie lifted her palm to Arizona's roseate cheek, reverently smoothing her thumb over soft skin. "It's okay," she breathed. "You don't have to say it."

Arizona furrowed her brows in confusion, and Callie's thumb came up to soothe the crease that had formed between them. She continued, vowing, "Everything you're about to say…" she paused, meeting receptive darkened blue eyes. "I already know."

She knew how deeply Arizona loved her. There was no way not to.

Arizona exhaled a long, shuddering breath. God. She had never been so consumed with emotion as she was in that moment. And she had never loved Callie more.

Slowly, she brought her hand up to Callie's caramel palm that rested on her face. She lifted Callie's hand, bringing it to her mouth and pressing her lips against it. She wanted to worship her forever. "I want to say it."

And Callie certainly wasn't in a position to stop her. She didn't want to.

There was so much Arizona wanted to say to her. She wanted to say everything. She wanted to spend the rest of her life saying everything. Reminding Callie everyday of just how deeply Arizona's love for her flowed. She wanted to explain how, when Arizona found her, her heart found a home. And she wanted to make a home out of Callie – and provide Callie with a home – forever.

She hoped that Callie would give her a lifetime to describe how she felt, because there was no way Arizona could've said everything that night alone.

"_Calliope_," she finally began, clear veneration and immense feeling in her tone, "I didn't just…fall into bed with you, tonight. I love you. I'm _in_ love with you. And I want an entire lifetime with you."

Slowly, a dazzling grin blossomed on Callie's face. They were on the same page. Finally. "Me, too," she promised. "You are _still_ the one I want to spend my life with. You are still the most amazing woman. You're still the person I love most."

And, at that, an equally wide smile grew on Arizona's face. She loved Callie. Callie loved her. They loved each other, and it was enough, now. It would be enough for all the years to come.

She was sure of it.

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**Leave me reviews!**


	115. Chapter 115

**Hi. I'm procrastinating on things that matter. Leave me a review! I'm gonna be up doing homework all night, now! :)**

**Inspired by Slexie. Made it happier and less poignant.**

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Walking towards a cafeteria table alongside April, Callie's laugh suddenly distracted her from several yards away. Callie was eating lunch with Meredith and Amelia – having restored her friendship with the two 'sisters' several weeks before.

According to the omnipresent rumor mill, she and Penny had broken up a few weeks before, and Callie seemed to be okay with that. She seemed just as happy and as radiant as she always was – which was a relief to Arizona. She was glad the woman she loved wasn't taking the breakup too badly.

But, even as glad as Arizona was, she also couldn't shake the feeling of heartache from her bones. She loved seeing Callie happy, but god. She wanted Callie to be happy with _her_.

She'd realized that she still wanted her ex-wife a few weeks before, and since then, seeing Callie had become even harder than before. And talking to her had become nearly impossible, because it just reminded Arizona that she wanted _more_. She wanted so much more.

So, as she caught sight of the brunette, she couldn't help but exhale a hopeless "_great_" under her breath. _Great_. Callie was there. Callie was everywhere.

And Arizona would have easily recovered if lunch had been the only time – or even the last time – she'd seen Callie that day. But it wasn't. Because, during her lunch with April, Callie had begun walking towards them, and Arizona had desperately fled. _Great_. And an hour later, Callie was at their old coffee cart, and Arizona'd had to run in the opposite direction – less smoothly than she might have liked. _Great_. And then Callie had strode up to the OR board, right beside Arizona. _Great_. Again, Arizona'd had to turn and scurry away.

And then, Callie had been in the scrub room on Arizona's way to surgery.

Freakin' _great_.

No. It wasn't great at all. And it was the last straw.

"Great!" Arizona sarcastically tossed towards the taller woman, throwing her hands into the air. "_You're_ here!" Callie was there, and being brilliant, and gorgeous, and outstanding, and Arizona felt the weight on her heart multiply. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with Callie, but Callie hadn't felt the same. Callie had walked away.

And now, with Arizona happy, healthy, recovered, and aware of her priorities, it was too late. She just had to suffer in silence, loving her ex-wife, while Callie was free and happy without her.

With knitted eyebrows, Callie turned her head towards the sudden harsh words. Arizona had walked into the scrub room. Good. "Hi?"

Arizona strode towards the sink, yanking the faucet on. "Dr. Forster was supposed to help with the reconstruction." In fact, she had purposefully requested the other orthopedic surgeon to help her. A six hour surgery with Callie had just seemed like too much, given Arizona's mood. Still, apparently Callie's fellow surgeon was busy. Great.

"His 86-year-old hip replacement guy didn't wake up," Callie explained. "He got stuck with paperwork and with calling the family." And, frankly, she had been more than happy to take Forster's place. She had been trying to talk to Arizona all day. Hell, she had been trying to talk to Arizona all _month_, but she hadn't been able to secure a spare moment between only the two of them.

She had been trying to talk to Arizona since her breakup with Penny a few weeks before. She still remembered Penny's desperate words: "I just…don't know how to be what you want, Callie. Am I even the person who can _give_ you what you want?"

And, in that moment, Callie had realized that Penny wasn't the person who could give her what she wanted. Because all she really wanted was a life with Arizona.

It had been a harsh realization. Seriously, it had. Because – over the course of the past two years – she hadn't ever allowed herself to _want_ her ex-wife. She had missed her – of course. She had admitted that she loved Arizona and would always love her, but she hadn't allowed herself to ever think about _wanting_ Arizona back.

She had told herself that _she_ had been the one to end their marriage when it was at its worst, and she didn't have the right to ever seek out the blonde's love again. Not when Arizona was better off without her. Not when Arizona was happier without her.

But then came the realization that Callie most certainly was not happier without Arizona. She was happy, sure, and she didn't _need_ Arizona, but god. She wanted her. And she knew that – if Arizona wanted to spend the rest of her life with her – they could be their happiest selves together.

She just needed a second alone with the blonde to explain that.

"How's your day going?" Callie offered conversationally, looking towards Arizona's face.

Arizona refused to look up, her blue eyes locked on her hands as she vigorously washed them. "Just _great_," she muttered under her breath. And, even as she formed the words, she cringed internally. She loved Callie. She freakin' adored her, and yet, there she was, being rude to her.

It had been a really, really long day.

"We should get in there." She finally decided to effectively change the subject by walking into the OR.

As Arizona knew she would, Callie immediately – though a little cautiously – followed, entering the room with her focused game-face on.

She was truly such an incredible surgeon. She never ceased to amaze Arizona.

As they operated on the young patient, Arizona bit her lip, keeping her mouth shut and concentrating solely on her work. She couldn't even look at Callie, for fear that "I love you" would boil over her hot lips.

On the other side of the operation table, Callie periodically sighed, attempting to think of an acceptable and not-totally-weird way to bring up their past, and perhaps even _talk_ to Arizona a little. Like, really talk to her. About something of substance. And maybe even suggest that her feelings for Arizona were stronger than ever.

But Arizona wouldn't even look at her. During the entire six hour surgery, she only looked at Callie twice, and never for more than a millisecond. What was Callie supposed to do with that? How was she supposed to say how she felt? How was she supposed to say "I love you" if Arizona wouldn't even look at her?

The surgery seemed to be never-ending, with each woman miserable: they hated being forced to be around the other, the one they couldn't admit they still loved. Six hours was a long, long time to be inches from the person they yearned for but couldn't touch – at least not with intention.

As they closed up, Arizona's hand accidentally brushed Callie's through her glove, but it was clinical. It didn't count; not when she wanted to kiss Callie, to lie in her arms, to have everything with her. It wasn't enough. It didn't compare.

"Well," Arizona finally exhaled as she threaded the final stitch. "Let's get her into recovery." As soon as the nurses began closing in, she turned towards the scrub room, ripping off her gown and gloves and stepping inside.

Wide eyed, Callie followed behind her, losing her own sterile equipment. She loved Arizona. She _loved_ her. And – whatever Arizona was going through, whatever was upsetting her – Callie wanted to be there for her. She wanted to protect the woman she loved, in the way that Arizona had always done her best to protect her.

"Arizo-" Callie began prompting as the door to the scrub room shut behind her. Then, she stopped short. The gorgeous blonde was leaning over the large sink basin with her head in her hands.

"What?" Arizona murmured, her voice warbling. When Callie didn't answer, she looked up, her eyes ringed with red.

Callie locked eyes with her, and she felt herself melt. An invisible force brought her to Arizona's side, needing to provide some sort of comfort to the other woman – even if Arizona wouldn't accept it. "What's wrong?"

Sighing in defeat, Arizona shook her head. She stood up straight, moving towards the door. "It's fine."

"Wait!" Callie called after her. She needed to talk to Arizona. To really talk to her. She was desperate for words.

With careful, cautious eyes, Arizona turned back towards her. Something in Callie's voice stopped her from going any further.

"What are you thinking?" Callie wasn't merely asking for an answer; she was begging.

Arizona shook her head, a tired, tragic laugh escaping her throat. Nothing was funny. "You're just…" she paused. "You're everywhere."

Callie raised her eyebrows. She hadn't expected to hear those words.

"Everywhere I look," Arizona continued. "You're all I see. I mean, we're divorced – we've _been_ divorced – but you're all I see again." She sighed, meeting receptive big brown eyes as she swallowed hard. "I love seeing you, and I hate that I love that. I hate-"

"Me?" Callie finished, suddenly horrified. It was more than possible, wasn't it? That, now that she had realized how deeply she still loved and wanted Arizona, her ex wanted nothing to do with her? It was possible, right? That Callie had realized she loved Arizona, and Arizona had realized she hated Callie?

"NO!" Arizona exclaimed, appalled by the mere idea. She couldn't hate Callie. She couldn't even just _like_ Callie. She could only love her.

She loved her, she loved her, she loved her.

"Oh." Callie's voice was small. She had been confused about Arizona's opinion about her _before_, but she was even more confused right then. Arizona had said that she loved seeing her. What the hell did that mean?

"I, um," Callie paused, forcing herself to compose her jumbled thoughts. "I love seeing you, too. I've been _trying_ to see you all day."

Their eyes locked.

"I've been trying to talk to you," Callie explained.

Arizona felt her heartbeat change. From a steady _lub dub, lub dub, lub dub, lub dub_ to a _BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM_, pounding in her ears. Callie had been near her…on purpose? "_Why_?"

Callie's eyes implored cool blues, unblinking. "I think you know." She had to know. Why _else_ would Callie be trying to talk to her?

Arizona exhaled a shuddering breath. "Why?" She would ask until she received an answer. She didn't trust her gut, anymore. It had been what had told her that couple's therapy was going to help.

"Because I love you." There. Callie had said it. The truth. _Her_ truth. They were the words she had been trying to say but couldn't.

Love. It was a feeling that consumed her. She was consumed with love for Arizona, she had so much of it.

"And I know I walked away, I know I-"

Arizona vigorously shook her head, refusing to let Callie apologize. "Don't."

Callie closed her mouth. She waited.

Arizona licked her lips. She felt her heart in her throat. She felt sick.

And she felt whole.

"Calliope…" she breathed, reveling in the way the sweet music flowed off her lips. It didn't hold a candle to the music of Callie's breath as it hitched; Arizona certainly noticed the small sound as the brunette's breath changed. "You are my real and true love." She shrugged helplessly. It was the truth. It was Callie. It was only ever Callie. "You're the love of my life, and you're everywhere."

Callie beamed – consumed with joy – and instinctively moved towards Arizona, invading her senses.

"I want to be everywhere. I want _you_ to be everywhere. I just…" she sighed. "I choose you, okay?" She wasn't like Arizona or Mark – she didn't believe in that singular soulmate – but she knew that she had never loved anyone as much as she loved Arizona. She knew that she would never love anyone the way she loved Arizona. She knew that – even if she did – she would always choose Arizona. She chose Arizona to be the love of her life, simply because she knew she would never want anyone else. Not anymore. Not ever. "I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. I just…I choose you." She brought her hands to Arizona's cheeks, reverently stroking soft skin. She'd missed Arizona's skin. She'd missed _her_.

Closing her eyes at the blissful feeling of Callie's hands on her skin, Arizona breathed, "Me, too. I choose you to be my wife." She'd said those words at their wedding, but they were even truer right then. She and Callie had been married in spirit, and they'd divorced in spirit, but Arizona had never truly stopped seeing Callie as her wife. She couldn't.

And she would never, ever let Callie go again. She would never let anything destroy their love again.

Their love would prevail. She would make sure of it.

Callie smiled at the memory. That had been the happiest day of her life. But, somehow, this day seemed more momentous. It seemed even more pivotal. And it felt good. She repeated the words she'd once sworn:

"I choose you to be the one with whom I spend my life."

It was a promise. Just as weighty as it had been on the day of their wedding, half a decade before.

It was a promise. And she sealed it with a kiss.

And then another.

And another.

And another, as milky hands roved over strong arms, and Callie pulled Arizona tightly against her.

Finally, they pulled their lips apart, their foreheads still resting together.

"What now?" Arizona whispered. They still loved each other, and chose each other, but what came next?

"We pick up Sofia, a pizza, some beer, and you come over?" Callie offered. Her palms laid over a soft waist. "We figure it out. We spend the rest of our lives together. We love each other." She shrugged. "We're meant to be."

Slowly, a blissful smile bloomed on Arizona's face, her rose cheeks becoming indented with dimples.

"Meant to be."


	116. Chapter 116

**Hey, y'all. Two different reconciliations in this one! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Prompt: "I love you, and you love me, and none of the rest of it matters!"**

* * *

Running into Callie in the supply closet, Arizona jumped. "Oh! You're here."

Callie looked up over the boxes of supplies that enboxed her. "Yeah. Sorry. I'll be out in a sec. I just need to find..." she paused, searching. "Got it!"

But, for some reason, with the brown boxes peppering the tiny room, Arizona remembered something. She remembered silencing Callie on that night several years before. She remembered insisting: "I love you, and you love me, and none of the rest of it matters!"

At the time, nothing but their love had mattered. Sure, she had left for Africa, but then she had come for Callie, and she had committed. She had committed to loving her, Mark, and their baby. Love had been all that mattered.

Until the plane crash. After the crash, suddenly, there was a lot more that mattered. Mark was gone, for one thing. And then there was the depression, the PTSD, the mourning, the recovery. There was the money. There was the broken promise. There was the next broken promise - the broken vow.

Those things had mattered. They hadn't made any love fade, but they had impacted their marriage. They had impacted their trust and ability to compromise.

They had mattered. They had made their love less significant. They had made their love be...not enough.

With everything that had mattered after the plane crash, love alone hadn't been enough to save them.

"It matters," Arizona whispered before Callie could walk towards the door.

Callie's eyebrows shot up. "What?" She wasn't even sure if she had heard correctly.

"It matters," Arizona repeated, more confidently that time. "Everything. The plane crash. The fact that I cheated on you. Losing Mark, and Nick, and all of it." She shrugged. "It matters."

Slowly, Callie nodded as she began to understand what Arizona was getting at. Early in their relationship, they'd always forgiven and forgotten their problems. They'd always counted on love to be enough - to be what mattered most.

And it had worked. Until it hadn't.

Some things couldn't ever be forgotten entirely. Some things took a long time to forgive.

"Remember?" Arizona prompted, taking a step closer to Callie. "'_I love you, and you love me, and none of the rest of it matters_.'"

Callie nodded. She remembered. Of course she remembered.

"I was wrong," Arizona admitted. "What we went through...the way we hurt each other...it mattered. Maybe it still does for you."

Callie shook her head. She gulped. "All I remember are the good things, now. There were so many good things." She had forgiven Arizona. She had moved forward.

Arizona smiled, remembering, herself. "There were."

Callie offered her a genuine smile. She was grateful that she and Arizona could finally talk this way. She was grateful that she no longer hurt. All she was left with was love for Arizona; love that would surely always remain.

Slowly, Arizona inhaled a deep breath. It was now or never.

"But, even while all of it still matters... - our _life _matters..." she continued. Her eyes fiercely met Callie's. "There's something that I still believe matters more."

Callie felt her heart run rampant in her chest. What was Arizona saying? "What?" she prompted. What mattered more?

Could it be...?

"Love," Arizona responded simply. "My love for you. Yours for me." She paused, blinking, as she watched Callie's eyes widen in pleasant surprise. "I know that it all matters now, Calliope," she amended. She had learned her lesson. "But I think we're ready. I think - if we wanted to - we could get our happily-ever-after together. Because love matters _most_. And I love you more than anything."

* * *

**Prompt: Mark.**

* * *

"Arizona!" April ran down the hallway towards her best friend.

Arizona looked up, surprised to see the trauma surgeon in her Peds ward. "Hey," she smiled.

"Hey," April continued hurriedly, with no patience for small talk. "I was wondering if you might be able to check on Callie. I didn't know who else to ask."

Arizona knit her eyebrows together, instantly going into protector mode. What had happened to Callie? "What's wrong?" she demanded.

"I don't know!" April exclaimed. "We were in surgery, and our patient, this sweet dad named Mark, kept coding on the table, and then we couldn't get him back. She called time of death and then just fell apart and ran for the door. I think she might have gone outside, but I don't know!"

Arizona felt her heart beating in her ears. Poor Callie could never stand when a patient died. She couldn't accept that she couldn't save them, that she couldn't have saved them. She always blamed herself.

Arizona began racing in the opposite direction, headed downstairs, when she stopped short. She turned back towards April, who seemed stuck in place looking after her. "His name was Mark?"

April's eyes widened in realization. _Oh, yeah_. She nodded.

_Damn it_, Arizona thought, racing down the stairs faster than she would have believed possible with her prosthesis. She couldn't explain her feelings. She only knew that she needed to be there. She needed to make sure Callie was okay. She needed to check on the woman she loved. The woman she would always love.

Arizona walked outside, tightly crossing her arms over herself as she stood beneath the awning. It was freezing and, several feet from her, the rain was beating down onto the asphalt.

It was only when she heard a tiny whimper, however, that she realized that the rain was beating down on her ex-wife, too.

"Callie…" Arizona breathed sympathetically, taking a step towards her. She didn't even notice the rain that soaked her. She only noticed the woman in tears, and all she could think about was making those tears stop.

Callie's head shot up in fear as she heard footsteps approach her, but her face settled into a sense of calm when she noticed that it was only Arizona. "Hey," she croaked.

Arizona smiled lovingly. "Hey," she whispered. "I'm sorry about Mark."

Hearing the name and reminder only pushed Callie over the edge again. Her lip quivered before she fell victim to the tears: her face crumpled and she leaned forwards, wracked with a sob.

And Arizona couldn't handle it. She couldn't handle just standing there – three feet from Callie – and not being able to do anything. Not feeling like she _could_ do anything.

So she did something.

Tentatively – but also, somehow, with more confidence than she'd shown in a while – she reached for Callie's hand, forcing the woman to stand upright and face her.

Straightening, Callie cautiously watched Arizona's face as the rain beat down on them both, concealing tears.

"I'm sorry," Arizona repeated. "For this Mark and for our Mark. I'm so sorry they didn't make it."

A steady flow of water poured from Callie's eyes as she reached for Arizona's sincere words.

"And I'm sorry I couldn't mourn with you last time," Arizona continued. "I'm sorry I couldn't remind you how good life still could be. I'm sorry I wouldn't let you hold me."

Callie shook her head, refusing to allow Arizona to blame herself for any of those old wounds. "You couldn't. It wasn't your fault."

And Arizona knew that. She knew that – of course – she would have been the wife Callie had needed at the time if she weren't so consumed with her own pain and trauma. "I know," she conceded. "But still. I regret that it couldn't be different. And I regret that, even now, I can't…" She paused before continuing, then shook her head. It wasn't a good idea to say it. She knew she shouldn't say it.

"You can't what?" Callie challenged. "You can do anything." She wanted Arizona to do…everything. She always did, but especially then.

The rain had soaked Arizona's hair, her skin, her scrubs. Raindrops fell from her eyelids, but in that moment, she didn't notice. She was only focused on one thing. The one thing she wanted to do. "I can hug you?"

At that, Callie inhaled a deep breath, feeling her stomach clench and her body begin to hum in anticipation at the mere thought. Arizona could hug her. Of course Arizona could hug her. It was all Callie wanted. It was all she ever wanted: Arizona.

"Yes," she finally vocalized.

Arizona's eyebrows flew up; she was clearly surprised that Callie hadn't vigorously shaken her head and stalked off in the opposite direction. What had she said? _Yes_?

Yes. She had.

And Arizona wasn't going to give her ex-wife the time to change her mind. Forcing the fear and hesitation to the back of her mind, she wrapped her arms around the taller woman. She didn't completely press herself against Callie, but god, she wanted to. She just didn't know what was and wasn't okay. So she allowed Callie to decide what the next step was.

And it was Callie who pulled their bodies tightly together. She melded herself against Arizona's smaller frame, tucking her face into a milky neck and breathing her in. Her arms were vices around the blonde, just as Arizona's were around her.

They each held the other steady. They held each other up.

As the rain continued to soak their tired bodies, they found warmth in each other. They felt safer and more understood than they had in years.

Finally, in a tiny, terrified voice, Arizona expressed, "I'm sorry for everything I did before. I'm sorry for everything I didn't do."

Surprised by the one apology Callie actually wanted to hear, she pulled back slightly, her hands coming to rest on slim hips. She implored glassy blue eyes, with clear confusion on her face.

Arizona smiled, even through her tears. "I'm just…I'm sorry."

Callie's hand came up to wipe away the tears that began to cascade down pink cheeks. "I'm sorry, too," she breathed.

That time, it was Arizona who was surprised.

"There was so much I didn't know, then," she explained. "About the plane crash. About your pain. I should have reminded you that what you were feeling was valid. I should have asked you what I could have done to help. I shouldn't have pushed you so much." She knew it was true. She hadn't always been what Arizona had needed her to be. She hadn't been nearly as sympathetic as she should have been. She had been caught up with her own pain, too.

Arizona shrugged, surrendering, "We both did the best we could."

Callie nodded. "We did the best we could with the knowledge we had at the time."

"Right," Arizona sighed. The problem was that there was so much more she knew, in that moment. She'd had two years to learn how to be better. She'd had two years to learn how to love better: both herself and her loved ones.

Callie had the same problem – or the same solution, depending on the way she looked at it. The problem was that, in that moment, she knew how to love Arizona better than she ever had. And, when Arizona had stepped towards her with worry in her eyes a few minutes before, Callie had known that she loved Arizona more than ever before, too.

It was a problem because they weren't together.

And the solution was so impossibly, impossibly simple: to be together.

"You're wet," she nodded her head towards Arizona's navy blue scrubs that stuck to her skin. Arizona looked like she was freezing, and all Callie wanted to do was to envelop her back in her arms and keep her warm. To protect her. Just as Arizona always wanted – and tried – to protect Callie.

Arizona knew that Callie was implicitly suggesting that they go inside, but she didn't want to. She wanted to keep her hands on Callie. She wanted to be all around Callie. She wanted to do what she always did: she wanted to protect her.

So instead of turning towards the entrance, through the shout of rain, Arizona whispered: "You're warm."

And Callie understood _that_ implicit message. She nodded, and her hands began to trail down a taut spinal column. She countered Arizona's statement with the truth: "I feel like I'm home when I'm in your arms." Arizona was home to her and always would be.

At that, Arizona didn't hesitate to gratefully wrap her arms around the other woman. Callie eagerly reciprocated, and suddenly, they were warm.

"Me, too," Arizona breathed. "So come home."

* * *

**Please let me know what you think!**


	117. Chapter 117

**Prompt: She's no you.**

* * *

"I have some stuff to finish for Dr. Grey, but we can go out tomorrow, okay?" Penny offered towards Callie. She didn't even notice Arizona, who was sitting several yards away, working on some paperwork.

"Sure!" Callie agreeably chirped in return. "I'll see you later."

Callie turned and headed towards the elevator. It was Arizona's night with Sofia, and the brunette was looking forward to a quiet night to herself. She was looking forward to relaxing.

Little did she know, she wasn't going to be able to relax as soon as she exited those hospital doors: Arizona rushed down the stairs, needing to both catch Callie before she was gone and to tell her the truth before she lost her nerve.

She caught up to Callie in the parking lot - the very same parking lot where Callie had assured Arizona how much she truly loved her several years before.

_I'm not going anywhere._

_Whatever you can't do, I will._

_I'm here, and that's how this works._

"Callie!" Arizona called, hurrying to catch up with her ex-wife.

Callie turned around, surprised to hear her ex-wife's voice. "Hey." She offered a genuine smile. Enough time had passed for them to forgive each other and no longer suffer in pain, and so interacting was - for the most part - the way it used to be: easy.

"Hey," Arizona offered warily, moving to stand in front of Callie. "I just, um." She paused. "I wanted to tell you something."

Callie knit her eyebrows together. What could Arizona have to tell her right then? "What?" she pressed.

Arizona exhaled a long breath, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. "Well…" she began. "You seem happy. Really happy. With Penny."

Callie shrugged. She wouldn't say that. Penny was just…easy. She had been easy before the Big Unveiling, and she had become easy again in the months following. Callie liked her, Penny liked Callie, and that was that. Penny didn't set fire to her skin the way Arizona once had, but, well. She brought a hint of warmth.

_And that can be enough_, Callie reminded herself. _Right_?

And, though Callie had intended to say something polite, to agree that Penny made her happy, what came out instead was: "She's no you."

And, even as she said it, her eyes widened. Where had _that _come from?

Arizona was clearly equally as surprised: eyes bulging. But she didn't give Callie the chance to attempt to take back the words. "Good," she decided. "I don't want you to find another me. Because there's no way I'll ever find someone to love the way I love you."

Callie's eyes bulged even more. Arizona had said _love_. Not _loved_. _Love_.

"I love you," Arizona repeated, plowing through her fear and the terrifying expression exploding on Callie's face. "And it's terrifying, because you're with Penny," she continued. "But I'm not going anywhere. I'm in love with you, and even if you want to stay with her, I'm here, because that's how this works. And, if she makes you happy, then I'm happy for you. But know that _you _will always make me happy."

Eyes locked, a long, tense moment passed between.

Finally, Callie offered, "I just have one question."

Arizona, prepared to hear "How fast can you get the hell out of my life?", could only croak out a terrified: "Anything."

Slowly, the corners of Callie's lips lifted into a smile. "What if it's _you_ who makes _me _happy, too?"

* * *

**Prompt: You know that I will always love you the most.**

* * *

Callie cared for Penny. That was what she knew. She _cared _for her.

Care. Care was a dimension of love, but care by itself was not love.

It was something, of course, but it wasn't enough. Callie knew it wasn't enough. So she had ended things. And she hadn't really told anyone.

It wasn't that she was keeping their breakup a secret - not exactly. It was just that she wasn't sure she was ready for anyone to know, because then she knew she would have to be held accountable to make the next step. And the next step was scary. Really scary. The next step involved truth. It involved telling Arizona how she truly felt. Which was terrifying. Really, really terrifying.

So she hadn't told anyone. And she needed to. She needed to tell Arizona how she truly felt. She needed to tell Arizona that she still loved her. And waned her.

God. Callie wanted an entire life with her.

And she really, really needed to admit that.

Arizona walked up to Callie's doorstep, eager to pick up Sofia and take her home. She hadn't seen her daughter in three days, having been overwhelmed with work and surgeries.

She couldn't wait to spend the night with her and actually feel like she at least still had some semblance of a family. It was only her and Sofia now - and only every few days - but that could be enough for her.

It was enough, on most days. Not always, but well. Callie had Penny.

"Hey," Callie greeted Arizona with a breathless smile as she let her inside. "She's almost ready."

"Great," Arizona chirped, following Callie into her living room. It still felt weird that they both had their separate houses, now. It was just so opposite from the way things were supposed to be. From the way she _wanted _them to be.

All she wanted was to be with Callie. In her arms, in her - their - house, in their bed. All she wanted was for Callie to be her family, again. For their family to be complete.

But Callie was with Penny, and Penny wasn't going anywhere.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Callie offered. "A glass of wine? I have white…"

Arizona shook her head. Being around Callie was too hard. She just needed to pick up Sofia and go. "No, thank you. Sof will just be a sec, right?"

Callie made a face. "Actually…" She paused. Actually, she'd left Sofia in her room with a movie. She had wanted a few minutes with only Arizona. "Actually," she repeated. "I was hoping to talk to you about something."

Arizona's eyes bulged. Those words sounded scarily like "_We need to talk_." And those were four words she despised. "About what?" she urged.

Callie gulped. "Can we sit?"

Unable to form the word _no_, Arizona ghosted behind Callie, and they sat beside each other on the couch. That couch was one of the few pieces of furniture that Callie had opted to keep. It was a familiar couch. It was centered in both good and bad memories. Mostly good.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to drink?"

Arizona shook her head. Her heart was rampant in her chest, and her stomach was bottoming out. She knew she wouldn't be able to swallow anything. Not with Callie watching her so intently. "I'm sure."

Slowly, Callie nodded. God. She had so much to say. How on earth could she say it?

Arizona waited. What did Callie want to say? Or, was she waiting for Arizona to say something? Had she found out how entirely Arizona still loved her? Had Webber told her? Was she mad?

"I, um," Callie began. "I ended things with Penny."

Arizona's eyebrows flew up. That hadn't been what she'd expected to hear. She hadn't heard anything, and Grey-Sloan was known for its gossip.

"For good," Callie finished.

Arizona remained silent, staring at Callie as she attempted to process the information. Then, she realized what must have been going on. "Callie, you don't owe me an explanation." She offered a forced smile. "You don't owe me anything. I'm so sorry that you didn't care about her, that it didn't work out, but you don't have to tell me about your love life."

"I did care about her!" Callie argued. And she had. She had loved Penny just as she had loved George, and even Erica. But not as she had Arizona.

With Arizona, care and love had an entirely different meaning. A greater one. A more selfless one. One that was both more terrifying and more mystifying. That's what she hoped to explain.

"Okay…" Arizona knit her eyebrows together. Now she was really confused.

Callie sighed. How could she explain it? How could she tell Arizona that no care and love compared to _her_ care and love? That Callie didn't want anything else?

"Why did you…end things then?" Arizona questioned, the curiosity getting the best of her.

Callie leveled a look at her ex-wife, insistently keeping their eyes locked. "You know that I will always love you the most."

Boom. For a moment, Arizona's heart stopped beating. The world stopped turning. Everything stopped.

Then, someone somewhere pressed the play button, and the terrifying film resumed.

"You…" Arizona couldn't make words. She couldn't function.

"I'm in love with you," Callie finished. "And I don't want to love anyone else. Ever."

Oh. _Oh_.

"I want you, Arizona," Callie continued. "I want everything that comes with wanting you. I want all of you. All the time. Constantly." She never didn't want Arizona. And she never didn't want to be with her.

She felt complete with her. She felt at home with her, and only her.

"I know it's been two years," she defended, amending, "I know we're both different people. But I'm in love with who you are now, just like I was in love with who you were before. And I just…" She shrugged helplessly. "I want to _get _to love you. I want to _show _you. That's why I'm telling you. In case you want to let me."

A silent moment passed between them, and Arizona felt all the knots inside her unravel. She felt herself exhale a breath she had been holding for far too long. She felt herself melting. She wanted to melt into Callie.

"I want to let you," Arizona assured her, a slow grin growing on her lips and dimples blooming on her cheeks. "I want you to let me."

Callie's eyes bulged. Was that…Was Arizona saying…

"I _love _you, Calliope," Arizona proclaimed. "I've been so in love with you. I'm always _so _in love with you." She didn't have the words to describe it. She had no words to describe the love she felt for the woman sitting beside her. She was consumed with love for her. Love, and care, and tenderness, and all of it. Callie made her feel everything. And it was blissful.

Arizona squared her shoulders towards Callie, reaching out and grabbing her hand. Immediately, she entwined their fingers, stirring together milk and caramel.

Callie's breath hitched as she felt Arizona's warm skin on hers. She had missed it. She had yearned for it. And, now - finally - she felt it.

She knew then that she should have broken up with Penny long before.

Because _this_ was so much better.

"Are you sure about this?" Arizona whispered. After Callie's proclamation of love, Arizona was fairly positive that she'd meant what she'd said. Still, she wanted to ensure that Callie really, truly felt it. "I'm sure there are people lining up for you."

Callie shrugged, offering Arizona a sly smile as she leaned in closer. She wanted to feel those soft pink lips open against her own.

"Maybe," she surrendered, her breath falling against motionless lips. She didn't think Arizona was even breathing, and Callie was certain she could hear her thrumming heart.

"But the only one I want is you."


	118. Chapter 118

**Something emotional for you all. Please, please, please let me know what you think! Reviews are the only form of payment we writers get, and we truly do appreciate it :)**

* * *

Arizona stopped short when she noticed that one other person was in the attendings' lounge: _Callie_. Damn it.

"Hi." She offered a soft smile.

Callie nodded towards her. "You done for the night, too?"

Arizona nodded, walking towards her the cubby that held her street clothes. It was easier to be around Callie when she didn't look at her. Looking at her just made Arizona want her. It made Arizona want her, and want her, and want her some more. The want never abated.

Especially that night. She'd had a long day, and – what she yearned for more than anything else – was Callie's arms around her. Her body ached for Callie.

Which was wrong. It was so wrong.

It had been two years since she'd felt Callie's skin on hers, after all. They purposefully kept from touching each other, knowing that it might lead to more. That it might remind them both how much they truly loved the other. And _that_ would be unacceptable, because they weren't together. And they couldn't be. They'd failed. Their love alone hadn't been enough, and that couldn't change. Right?

"Arizona?" Callie prompted with uncertainty.

Arizona turned towards her, a question written on her face.

Before continuing, Callie chuckled self-consciously. She knew she was being ridiculous. She knew she shouldn't make the request she wanted to make. She knew she didn't have the right.

But even knowing that didn't stop her.

"I, um," she paused. Finally, she surrendered. "I had a long day."

Arizona exhaled an understanding breath. "Me, too." When she and Callie had been together, they would have spent the night eating pizza, drinking beer, and talking between delicious orgasms, but not anymore.

Arizona was going home alone, and Callie was going home to only Sofia.

Callie slowly nodded, buying herself time. How could she ask for what she needed? Did she even have the right to ask at all?

All she knew was that she yearned for Arizona's arms around her. She yearned for that and so much more.

Slowly, she felt tears sting her eyes as she reflected on everything. How had it all gone so wrong? Her life wasn't meant to turn out the way it had. It wasn't the way it was meant to be.

Because she and Arizona were meant to be. And they weren't together. Callie couldn't even touch her. She couldn't even ask Arizona to touch her.

"Callie?" Arizona questioned, suddenly overcome with terror. Why was Callie crying? She instinctively stepped towards her, wanting to wrap her into a hug but realizing she didn't have the right to.

She had once made Callie's body _hers_, but no more. She no longer had the right.

"Callie?" she intoned again, hesitantly placing her palm on a strong shoulder as a sign of comfort. "What's _wrong_?" It was more than a mere question. She was practically begging for answers. She couldn't stand to see Callie hurt. She'd never been able to stand it.

Callie released a shuddering breath. God. She couldn't help but admit the truth, with Arizona right there, touching her, and all around her. "I keep dreaming about you."

Arizona pulled back. That hadn't been what she'd expected to hear.

"About holding you," Callie continued. "About you holding me. And it's all I want, right now. It's the only thing I can think of that will get me through tonight."

Arizona's eyes bulged. Were they so well matched that they had the same thoughts? She and Callie had been full of misunderstandings for so long, but suddenly, they desired the same thing: something as simple as a hug.

"Okay," Arizona eagerly nodded a moment later, desperate to keep Callie from crying anymore. Her grasp tightened on Callie's shoulder. "Let me hold you, then."

"Wait…what?" Callie verbalized inarticulately. She must have been hallucinating. She must have been hearing things. She must have been.

Arizona rolled her eyes, but she did so sweetly. "Callie," she began, her voice a mixture of tenderness and exasperation. "It took months to get used to you no longer curled around me in sleep."

Callie raised her eyebrows.

"Sometimes," she continued, "I still wake up and reach for you." She paused, seeming to be lost in thought as her hand lightly trailed down Callie's strong arm.

Callie watched her pale face in silence, waiting for more. It had been so long since Arizona had been this honest with her. Years, maybe.

"But I still haven't been able to completely get used to not being able to reach for you after a long day," Arizona finally finished. "And to you not being there."

Slowly, Callie nodded. She understood that perhaps better than she should have. "I know."

"But I'm here now," Arizona decided. "And so are you."

Her meaning was clear, and Callie gently reached her hand towards a milky face, sweeping back a loose strand of golden hair. Even while the movement seemed effortless, her hand was shaking and hesitant.

It had been so long. It had been two years since she'd even shared such an intimate moment with Arizona. Doing so then felt…unfamiliar.

And it was unfamiliar, mostly, because it _was_ so familiar. It was just right. It was a touch that felt like second-nature. One that felt as natural as breathing. And Callie hadn't felt that way with any other man or woman she'd seen since the divorce. She'd never felt such a sense of completeness with another human being.

She only felt complete with Arizona, which was perhaps why she so vehemently ached for her protective arms.

Arizona leaned into the caramel palm that had come to rest on her cheek, bringing her own hand up to cradle Callie's. She closed her eyes, wanting to focus all her senses on the single feeling of Callie's skin on hers. A lone tear fell from her eye.

"_Hey_," Callie breathed, wiping the tear away. "What's wrong?"

Arizona shook her head. She knew she shouldn't say it. She couldn't. She didn't have the right.

"Tell me," Callie insisted softly. Her thumb gently stroked a soft white cheek, and Arizona's eyes became hooded at the feeling.

Finally, Arizona forced her eyes open, boring them into responsive brown orbs. "_I miss you, _Calliope," she whispered. "Not just your hugs. All of you."

Callie's lips lifted into a sweet smile, while her heart took off in her chest. So she and Arizona really were on the same page. "I know. I miss you, too." And, seeing that Arizona was on the verge of collapse – with Callie not far behind her – she intoned, "We're going to hug now, okay?"

Arizona nodded eagerly, forcefully wiping the tears from her cheeks. She stepped forward, close enough for their breasts to touch.

Then, she stopped. She thought a hug had been all she had wanted, but it wasn't. She wanted more. She wanted so much more.

Callie had said she missed her, and then, Arizona wanted more. Perhaps Callie did, too.

She did. As Arizona stepped closer – into her space and against her – Callie's eyes fell on plump pink lips. She missed those lips, too.

And, immediately, she saw blue eyes darken as Arizona's gaze fell on her own lips. And then she couldn't move. Not really. She couldn't back away. She couldn't run towards the door – towards safety and surety. All she could do was bring her hands to Arizona's face, keeping the blonde from running away, either.

"Calliope…" Arizona pleaded, and then Callie's lips moved closer. So close. Only a breath away. "I love you," she exhaled, the words flowing directly into Callie's mouth and beelining for her heart.

"I know," Callie breathed in return, her sweet breath falling against Arizona's skin. "I love you, too."

At that, Arizona closed the distance entirely, tilting her head back and grabbing Callie by the waist, forcing the taller woman tightly against her smaller frame.

Callie whimpered at the sudden, overwhelming contact, a sob catching in her throat.

Arizona's body shuddered at the sound, and then her lips softened against Callie's, wanting to fill the brunette with every ounce of love she felt for her.

Full lips eagerly moved against hers, and Callie's hands moved down the blonde's small frame, insistently pulling Arizona's body as tightly against her as she could.

With their lips working together to recreate their love that was neglected but never forgotten, Callie and Arizona felt their hearts settle in their chests, slowing to an identical steady heartbeat.

Finally, Arizona pulled back, reverently cradling Callie's face in her hands. "I feel better," she breathed, her eyes staring directly into Callie's soul.

Callie let out a soft chuckle, her arms still wrapped tightly around Arizona. "Me, too," she whispered in return, lovingly gazing into those beautiful baby blues. "You make everything better."


	119. Chapter 119

**Hi. Written after 12x08. Set in the far future.**

* * *

Arizona looked up from her book and smiled as she watched Callie walk towards the opposite side of the bed. "You tired?" she prompted. It had been a busy day for them both.

Silently, Callie nodded and proved just how tired she was by collapsing onto the bed. She buried herself under the covers and, like a cat, curled up beside the blonde, eager to feel her warmth.

Arizona laughed at her wife's comically exhausted state. She brought her hand down, running her fingers through silky black hair.

"Mmm," Callie moaned contently as her eyes fell shut in relaxation. "Yes. So good. Keep doing that." She burrowed her head into Arizona's lap, insisting on more contact.

"Callie!" Arizona chuckled in surprise, but really, she was happy to oblige. And, as she refocused on _A Thousand Splendid Suns_, her nimble fingers continued stroking through black hair, rubbing the nape of a smooth neck, and affectionately scratching a strong trapezius.

"Can we call in sick tomorrow? The only times I've really seen you this past week have been in bed," Callie whined.

Arizona placed her book on the bedside table and looked at her wife with one raised eyebrow. "And you're complaining?" she teased.

Callie rolled her eyes. "We've been _sleeping_! We've been too tired to even talk to each other, much less do anything else!"

"I know," Arizona lamented, her fingers stopping their gentle rhythm and resting on Callie's back, instead. "We could talk now," she suggested.

"We're sleepy," Callie pouted. "Whereas tomorrow, we'll be full of energy." She cut her eyes towards Arizona's face, giving her a lecherous look.

Arizona laughed. "Callie Torres, I am all for a day spent alone in bed with you, but I'd rather save our sick days for an actual vacation." She clicked off her bedside lamp.

Callie lifted her head from her wife's lap, and Arizona laid down, turning on her side to face the brunette.

Callie loped her arm around Arizona's waist, pulling the smaller woman to her.

At the simple pleasure of Callie's soft curves melding against her own, Arizona felt her stomach flutter. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," Callie breathed, perusing Arizona's face with veneration and wonder.

Placing a wet kiss on plump red lips, Arizona prompted, "So talk to me. How was your day?" She lowered her head, latching her lips onto the column of a caramel neck.

"_Uhhh_." Callie closed her eyes, falling victim to the feeling of Arizona's hot, meandering mouth against her skin. "I had…a nine hour surgery," she finally verbalized haltingly. "Really bad car crash."

Her eyelids lifted as Arizona snapped her head up, meeting big brown eyes with worry. And, just like that, she went from wanton seductress to concerned protector within a mere second. "Is the patient okay?"

Callie nodded, smiling gratefully. "She's fine," she assured the blonde. "It took almost ten hours, but it paid off."

Arizona sighed in relief. "Good." All surgeons hated when their patients died, but Arizona knew Callie took the losses the hardest; she always blamed herself.

Arizona lovingly ghosted her thumb along a soft cheek. "She was lucky you were there." Callie was one of the best surgeons she knew.

Callie smiled, pecking Arizona on the lips. "I'm lucky _you're_ here," she argued.

Arizona grinned, insisting, "We're both lucky." And that was how she felt. Together and apart, they had been through so much, but somehow, they had still made their way back to one another. And, for that, Arizona felt endlessly lucky. And grateful.

"Damn right," Callie conceded with a hoarse, tired voice. "Which is why I would _like_ us to spend more time together."

"Me, too," Arizona assured her. "I'll plan something this weekend."

"R_eee_ally?" Callie drawled provocatively.

"Mmm-hmm," Arizona smirked. Then, in utter seriousness, she offered, "No, really, though. We'll get a sitter for Sof and go out and do something romantic. There's that fancy vegetarian Mexican restaurant you've been wanting to try."

"Ooh, good," Callie commented, practically delirious with sleep.

Arizona smiled as she watched Callie attempt to fight off her drooping eyelids. It was a battle she was losing. And fast.

Feeling close to sleep herself, she turned around in Callie's arms, nestling herself into the bigger woman's warm embrace.

"That place will get you into a dress," Callie added. She felt her temperature rise as she pictured Arizona in formalwear. "Right?"

Arizona shrugged coyly. "Maybe."

Feeling Arizona's shoulders shift against her, Callie pouted. She had hoped for a _yes_. So she pressed, "Do you think you could wear that red one I like?"

Arizona reached for Callie's hand, entwining their fingers. She wanted maximum contact. She wanted to touch every inch of the woman she loved – or at least as best she could. She closed her eyes, teasing, "Probably."

Even close to sleep, Callie smiled. She loved Arizona. Body and soul. Her whole essence. She loved every piece of Arizona, in the same way that Arizona loved every piece of her. And she loved showing it, both emotionally _and_ physically. She loved bringing her wife pleasure in every way she could. She just wanted the woman she loved to feel good, constantly. Better yet if it was because of _her_. So again, she pressed, "Do you think we could make love all night afterwards?"

A slow, easy smile bloomed on Arizona's face. She placed a gentle, reverent kiss against Callie's hand. This time, instead of teasing, she promised the truth. "_Definitely_."


	120. Chapter 120

**AU. Written after 12x08. Set in 12x09.**

**Let me know what you think if you read it! **

* * *

As a unified group of doctors came together to worry and hope for Meredith Grey to _live_, Arizona noticed a definite absence of one surgeon in particular. Where was Callie? She spun in a circle, searching again for her ex-wife. Still, she nowhere in sight.

Then, Arizona realized that she knew _exactly_ where Callie was. Immediately, she made her way upstairs, wanting to find her ex-wife to make sure she was okay. She opened the door to the modest hospital chapel, silently shutting it behind her. She looked out at the pews and finally spotted the familiar form she had been searching for.

Arizona crept towards her, noticing the ellipsis Callie's shoulders created – slumped in defeat. Arizona watched her help Meredith in the only way she knew how: through prayer.

As Arizona edged closer, the floor creaked, and Callie whipped around, looking for the intruder. When her eyes locked with wary blues, however, her face softened. There was no intruder. Only Arizona.

Meeting watery brown eyes, Arizona offered a tentative smile. "I thought you might be here," she vocalized, taking a step towards her ex-wife.

Callie shrugged helplessly. "I didn't know where else to go. It didn't feel like enough to wait down there and just hope for the best."

Arizona nodded. She understood that. Doing nothing – not having the power to do anything – was unbearable. "Do you think praying really helps?"

Callie looked up, thoughtfully meeting the sincere cerulean eyes that always seemed to look directly into her, rather than merely _at_ her. "Sometimes," she offered neutrally. "Well," she amended. "Most of the time." She had to. She had to believe in something bigger. Otherwise, what was the point?

"Okay," Arizona decided. She walked towards Callie and sat down beside her – only inches away. "Teach me, then."

Callie furrowed her eyebrows. "To _pray_?" she intoned incredulously. "You don't pray."

"I have," Arizona defended. "When the plane crashed, I prayed that Mark and I would make it home to you and Sofia." She paused, and her face clouded over. Finally, she muttered under her breath, "I don't think I did it right, though." Mark had died, after all.

Callie offered her a tender smile. "There's no _wrong_ way to pray," she promised. "You don't have to address a god or anything. Just think happy thoughts about Mer. It'll help. It'll make you feel better, too."

"Do you feel better?"

Callie exhaled a tired breath. "No," she admitted honestly, looking down at her hands on her lap. "I'm not going to feel better until I know she's okay. And if she's not…" She shook her head in defeat.

"What?" Arizona worried, urging the brunette to continue.

Callie attempted to swallow the lump in her throat. Refusing to meet intense eyes, she looked up towards the altar at the front of the church. "If she's not," she repeated "Then I don't know how much I'll be able to keep believing in all this." She chuckled darkly, and Arizona's eyes widened with worry. "After everything we've been through, I'm surprised I still do."

A long, silent moment passed, and then, Arizona countered softly, "I'm not." Callie's surviving faith didn't surprise her in the slightest.

Curious brown eyes turned to look at her, shadowed by wrinkled black brows. Silently, she asked for clarification.

And Arizona heard the silent plea for more and chose to fill it. "Callie, you always see the good," she explained. "You have endless faith and love to give the world, and it's one of the things that makes you so special."

Callie felt her heart speed up in her chest, and her face flushed at Arizona's surprising and loving honesty. She admitted truthfully, "I don't know what to trust anymore, though. Everything feels like tragedy." And it did. It all did. George's death, Nick's death, Lexie's death Mark's death, Derek's death. The plane crash. The divorce. And now this. Where did all the good go?

"Do you trust me?" It was a genuine, curiosity-filled question on Arizona's part. That was the question. After everything, did Callie still trust her? Not with everything – of course not that. But with anything? Could Callie trust her at all?

"Yes," Callie answered, surprising even herself with her immediate answer. Because – for a long time – she hadn't trusted Arizona. Not really. She'd trusted Arizona as a surgeon and as a mother, but not necessarily as a wife or partner. But, now, two years had passed, and Callie trusted Arizona with everything, again. Even no longer together, Callie trusted her ex-wife with her life.

Refusing to allow herself to be distracted by Callie's shockingly easy response, Arizona pushed forward, eager to support Callie with everything she had. "Okay," she nodded solemnly. "I believe that Meredith will be okay. Trust that I'm right."

Callie gave a short, disbelieving laugh. "I'm not sure it's that simple."

"It is," Arizona maintained. She lifted a hand off her lap and offered it to Callie.

Callie's eyes shot up to Arizona's face, confused by the gesture.

Arizona gave her a sweet smile. "We're going to sit here until she gets out of surgery. We're going to pray together." She provided the definitive statement with confidence, but inside, she wondered if it was too much. Too bossy. Too assumptive. On one hand, she didn't want to overstep, but on the other hand, she was eager to make sure that Callie was okay. It was all she wanted.

Callie lifted her shaky hand from her thigh, tentatively dropping it in the place between them, instead. A peace offering.

And, thankful, Arizona reached down and entwined their palms. Releasing a relieved breath at the sweet feeling of Callie's warm skin against her own, she pulled their hands onto her lap. She wanted to take Callie's hand and run. She wanted to find somewhere safer. Somewhere where people didn't get into plane crashes, and didn't divorce or die. Somewhere where they could be happy.

Instead, though, she squeezed Callie's hand, staying grounded and in place. "I'll stay here with you until she's okay," she promised.

Callie closed her eyes, nodding softly and exhaling a long breath. She felt better already. Somehow, Arizona knew what she'd needed. She always had.

She opened her eyes, meeting observant blues. She smiled, reverently whispering, "Thank you, Arizona. I know there must be places you need to be…"

Arizona shook her head, stopping her ex-wife in her tracks. She brought her other palm to the back of Callie's hand, tracing gentle circles against her skin. Eyes still locked, she assured her of the simple truth.

"The only place I need to be is with you."


	121. Chapter 121

**I just found this fic from 10 months ago on my old computer! It's clear my writing has improved since, yikes. **

**Anyway, it's set before 8x05. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

At three a.m., an irritable and exhausted Mark pounded on Callie and Arizona's apartment door.

"Arizona!" Mark hollered from the hallway. "Open up!"

Half asleep, Callie groaned, "What does he want?"

"I'm sleeping!" Arizona whined.

"I need help with Sofia!" Mark shouted.

Callie and Arizona shot up in bed. _Sofia_?

They raced toward the door. _Was she okay_?

Arizona yanked it open. "What's w—"

She was cut off by the sound of a screaming baby and Mark's red eyes.

"She won't go back to sleep," he explained.

Arizona rolled her eyes. "_Seriously_?!" That's why he had woken them up in the middle of the night?

"Mark!" Callie chided. Couldn't he have solved the problem himself? He was a father, after all.

"What?" Mark replied defensively. "You can go back to sleep, Cal. Arizona's the one with the magic touch. I've been trying to get Sof to go back to sleep for forty five minutes, and she just keeps crying!"

Arizona let out an irritated breath. Mark was hopeless. She reached out to grab Sofia from out of her father's arms. "Hey, Sof," she whispered soothingly. She held Sofia to her chest, bouncing just enough to calm her down. "Did you give her a bottle?" she asked Mark as Sofia's cries turned to whimpers.

"She didn't want it," he admitted helplessly. "And I'm so tired. I have a surgery at six."

"Uck," Callie cringed sympathetically. "That's soon."

She and Mark looked onward as Arizona continued cradling Sofia, whispering sweet words in her ear until, soon enough, she closed her eyes in sleep.

"There you go, baby girl," Arizona smiled gently. She kissed Sofia's forehead before gently handing her back to Mark.

Mark took the baby gingerly, terrified that she'd wake up and begin screaming again. "How do you do that?"

Arizona shrugged and smiled pridefully, and Callie wrapped her arms around the blonde from behind. "She has that magical Mama touch."

"No fair," Mark muttered. Then, he offered a genuine crooked smile. "Thank you, Robbins." He yawned and gingerly lifted Sofia's tiny hand to bid them adieu. "Bye Mama, by Mommy," he whispered.

Callie and Arizona smiled lovingly at their tiny, sleeping girl. They leaned in, gently kissing her soft cheeks. "Bye, Sof. See you in the morning!"

They each turned and headed towards their respective apartments, and Callie and Arizona instantly fell back into bed, eager to continue sleeping.

Noticing Callie's wide, loving eyes on her, Arizona smiled shyly. "What?"

Callie offered a little shrug, whispering, "I'm just thinking about how lucky our daughter is to have you."

Arizona's smile widened, flattered by her wife's sweet words.

Callie moved closer, leaning in to reverently brush pink lips. "So am I."


	122. Chapter 122

**Something quick, inspired by 12x10 (which I have yet to watch tbh).**

* * *

"Arizona." Callie stopped the blonde before she could walk out of the elevator.

Surprised, Arizona whipped around, looking at her ex-wife in confusion.

Callie exhaled a long, fearful breath in preparation. Then, she told her truth. "I miss you."

Arizona's eyebrows shot up.

"I miss you," Callie repeated, feeling tears sting her eyes. Saying the words somehow made them feel so much more real. "I miss you, and I tried to move on. I tried to find love with Penny," she explained. "But…I realized that, when she kissed me in the stairwell, I thought of you. When I saw her in the elevator, I thought of that breakup kiss and when I first told you about Sofia and was so scared you would leave. Whenever she called me 'Calliope,' it just didn't feel right. It made me think of every time you said you loved me, and how I always felt your love in my soul."

Arizona's heart was suddenly erratic in her chest, her eyes locked with Callie's and her feet glued to the floor: unmoving.

"I know I walked away," Callie apologized. "I know I said I felt free without you, but I don't," she shook her head. "I just feel wrong, and I'm done trying to find anything to help."

Arizona attempted to swallow the lump in her throat. She couldn't breathe. "Wh- What would help?" she croaked.

"You," Callie vowed. "You're what's right for me. Only you."


	123. Chapter 123

**HAI. Two quick super-AUs I wrote during class. (I'm still in class. Oops.)**

* * *

**Prompt: What are you doing?**

* * *

"Callie." After their brief conversation, Arizona beckoned her ex-wife back before she could walk to her car.

Callie turned back, her eyebrows knit in confusion.

"What are you doing?" There was a hint of humor in the blonde's tone, but mostly genuine interest.

"What do you mean?" What was Arizona talking about?

"With Penny," Arizona supplied. "You and I both know you're too good for her."

Well, that certainly wasn't what Callie had been expecting to hear from her private, ultra-polite, un-confrontational ex-wife.

Arizona just looked at her, waiting expectantly for an answer. On the outside, she was calm. Inside, however, was another story.

"Arizona..." Callie began. "Just because she was on Derek's case - and then didn't tell me - doesn't make her a bad person."

"I know," Arizona quickly defended. "Though, she did question a surgical decision I knew to be correct earlier today, so she might be a bad doctor...But, anyway," she brought her hands up, waving off the ill-concealed insult. "That's not what I'm talking about."

"What are you talking about?" Callie asked patiently, even knowing that the right thing to do would be to leave.

Arizona paused for a moment, debating whether or not to tell the truth. Finally, she said: "I'm talking about the way she looks at you." She locked her eyes with Callie's, continuing, "And the way you look at her."

Callie began to fight, she began to get defensive and retaliate, but Arizona put her hand up before she could say anything.

Callie opted to be perceptive, forcing herself to remain silent while Arizona continued.

"I mean, you stopped loving me _years _ago and still look at me with more concern than when you look at her," she added. "And..." she sighed. "You should be with someone who finds you miraculous. Someone who wants nothing more than for you to be happy. Someone who looks at you like you're everything they could ever want and more."

Callie felt her heart speed up in her chest, making the connection perhaps before even Arizona herself. "Someone like you?" Callie intoned.

Arizona's eyes bulged, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water at the shock of unexpected words.

Callie waited, a hint of a knowing smile teasing her lips.

And, as Arizona processed the words, she realized that - as much as she knew she should say no - _yes_, she was exactly who Callie deserved.

She deserved to be with someone who loved her like Arizona had and continued to. And there was no better person to supply that love than Arizona herself.

"Not like me," Arizona corrected, her voice a nearly inaudible breath of discovery.

Callie's eyebrows raised. She waited. Hoping, hoping, hoping. Hoping Arizona might still want her. Hoping she would be brave enough to admit it. "Who then?"

"_Me_," Arizona finished. "You should be with me."

* * *

**Prompt: Were you ever going to tell me?**

* * *

"Were you ever going to tell me?" Arizona demanded.

Callie turned around at the sound of her ex-wife's voice suddenly filling the attendings' lounge. She furrowed her brows. "What?"

Arizona stepped towards her. "Were you ever going to tell me?" she repeated. "About how you and Penny broke up?"

"I...y...but..." Callie sputtered nonsensically. So, she and Penny had broken up, once and for all. What did it matter to Arizona? She exhaled a long breath, grounding herself. "I would have told you if it mattered."

Penny had never been a woman with whom Callie saw a lifelong future. She had been nice, and fun, and flirty, but Callie had genuinely liked her. But Penny had never been someone she had wanted Sofia or Arizona to get to know. The resident was great, certainly, but she wasn't family.

"It matters," Arizona argued. It mattered, because Arizona had realized how much she still loved and wanted Callie, and she hadn't been able to tell her. Callie had been happy and "free," after all, and Arizona did not want to ruin that sense of joy and liberty. She knew that she could have kept her secret and lived through her heartache if it meant that Callie was happy with someone else.

And Callie had been, but no longer.

"Arizona, it really doesn't," Callie chuckled. "We were right for each other for a while, but we weren't made to last. She shrugged, unphased. "It's just the way the world works." She had come to accept that, maybe, no relationship was 'meant to be' forever. No matter how much she once may have wanted her relationship with Arizona to be just that.

Arizona looked down, pursing her lips. Building up the courage, at last, she whispered, "Maybe some things _are _made to last." She looked up, her eyes fiercely meeting chocolate browns. "Like how much I love you."

At those words, Callie attempted to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. She felt her stomach drop to the floor and her hair stand on end. Had Arizona just said...

"You're happy," Arizona pushed on. "And I don't want to get in the way of that, especially if you need some time on your own. But I've been alone for two years now, and as happy as I am..."

"_What_?" Callie beseeched, begging for Arizona to continue. She wanted more words. She wanted to know her ex-wife's exact thoughts. She wanted to know if Arizona still loved her.

"I still love you," Arizona stated courageously, stepping into Callie's space. "I still _want _you. Every part of you. And I still want us to be happy together."

Callie stood still as stone, staring dumbfounded at the blonde. There was so much she wanted to ask and say, and she didn't even know where to begin. In that moment, all she knew was that Arizona loved her, and she loved Arizona.

"I just...thought you should know," she summarized. "I love you. And I think we can be right for each other again. So if you want to ever want to give us another shot, I'm here, loving you." Briefly, she reached out and squeezed Callie's shaking hand, and she felt electricity flow through her entire body. "No rush," she reassured her. "I'll look for you tomorrow." Arizona offered up an almost-shy little titter, sounding so much like she had in that bar bathroom all those years ago.

She turned to go and give the brunette her likely much-needed space, and Callie forcefully pulled herself out of her reverie. "Arizona." Her voice was eerily calm, considering the emotions that consumed her.

Arizona whipped her head around to face her, her eyes filled with infinite fear and infinite hopefulness.

Callie promised, "I'll look for _you _tomorrow." Maybe she and Arizona were meant to last. It was worth one last shot. She offered a shy - albeit dazzling - smile.

Arizona smiled, her lips curling up into a grin. It wasn't an _I love you_, but it was close. "Can't wait."

* * *

**Again, these are total AUs, not necessarily scenarios I hope for! That being said, let me know what you think!**


	124. Chapter 124

**AU 1.**

* * *

"Arizona," Callie exhaled airily, her voice barely audible.

Arizona's head shot up, the weight of their conversation still putting her rapidly pounding heart in overdrive.

"Do you still love me?" Callie's voice was oddly calm considering how she felt inside.

Arizona shook her head, merely pleading, "Don't ask me that…"

"I want to know," Callie insisted. In that moment, nothing else mattered to her but knowing. Their past didn't matter. Their pain didn't matter. Penny didn't matter.

Nothing else mattered but Arizona and her answer.

"Callie…" Arizona urgently and fervently entreated.

Callie stood strong. She waited. She wanted an answer. She needed one.

"You're with Penny," Arizona reasoned weakly. In her mind, that shouldn't have meant anything, but she knew it meant something to Callie. Callie was happy. Finally. The last thing Arizona wanted to do was get in the way of that.

Callie, on the other hand, acknowledged that Arizona's refusal to answer was an answer alone. Arizona still loved her. That much was clear. She still loved her, and yet she was willing to put Callie first and suffer through her pain, heartache, and longing if it meant her ex-wife would be happy.

And that was everything. That giving, generous love was exactly what they had shared and then lost in the wake of their pain.

Callie released a long breath, her voice a mere whisper. "If given a choice, I would always choose you."

Arizona's eyes bulged in first confusion, then speculation of understanding.

"Penny's _great_," Callie defended, but even she acknowledged that there was no sense of wonder in her voice. That only came when she talked about Arizona. "But she doesn't compare to you." She looked deeply into Arizona's soulful eyes, emphasizing her words. "She doesn't take my breath away just by the way she looks at me."

Arizona's lips curled up into a shy smile. "No, she doesn't."

Callie waited, feeling as if her body might explode with anticipation at the words she was certain to hear moments later.

"I'm giving you a choice, then," Arizona decided. "Choose me. Because I am in love with you, and I want to be able to show it, for the rest of our lives."

Callie inhaled a sharp breath, her heart hammering in her chest and her entire body tingling. _Yep_, she decided, _I'm exploding_. And with colors and joy even brighter than fireworks on the Fourth of July.

"Okay."

Arizona paused in question, then nervously intoned, "'Okay'?"

Callie smiled. "Okay, I choose you. Now. Forever. You're who I choose for all of it."

* * *

**AU 2.**

* * *

"Well…" Richard waited expectantly. "How was last night?" Over the course of the past few weeks, it had become a tradition for Arizona to tell him about her conquest the night before. He was eager to find out how the night before had gone.

Arizona shrugged. "It was good," she offered airily, brushing off the question.

"Well, did you enjoy it?" Richard pressed. "Do you think you'll see her again?"

Arizona made a face.

"Robbins!" Richard chided. "Why can't you tell me about this one? It was Glasses, right? Was it bad?"

"No!" Arizona exclaimed.

Richard jumped back in surprise, and Arizona huffed. "It wasn't bad. It was…" She shook her head in defeat. "I just don't want to see her again."

Richard watched his friend carefully, attempting to read between the lines. When Arizona talked about her last encounter, she made it sound…different. But, if that was the case and the blonde didn't want to see the woman again, perhaps different wasn't good. "Did she…take advantage of you?" he asked gently.

Arizona's head snapped up. "_What_? No!"

"Because, if she did, we can report her, Robbins," he decided paternally. "We can do a rape kit, we can take her to court, we can—"

"Webber!" Arizona exploded. "She didn't rape me! She just made me think of Callie!"

Richard's eyes bulged. That certainly hadn't been what he had expected to hear. He waited, eager for more context. When Arizona didn't offer up any more answers, he intoned, "_Well_?"

Arizona sighed, looking exhausted rather than light and refreshed, as she had the days and weeks before. "Look, we were having a good time. The sex was great. And consensual," she added pointedly.

Richard nodded in understanding.

"But afterwards, I turned to her and just…" She paused, figuring out how to put the sentiment into words. "The way she was looking at me reminded me of Callie."

The way Glasses had looked at her had made her remember. About Callie. About how deeply beautiful their love had once been. About how Callie used to sometimes pause her ministrations just to marvel at her. About how she would murmur _God, you're beautiful_ in complete wonderment.

And, now that she remembered, it was all she could remember.

Watching Arizona longingly look off into the distance, Richard knowingly crossed his arms. "You still love her."

Wide blue eyes shot up towards her wingman's face.

"Don't you?"

Slowly, Arizona bobbed her head. "I still love her," she breathed. Just the day before, she had been happy with her slew of women and no commitment. But – in the few seconds Glasses had looked at her – Arizona had realized that she didn't want that anymore. She wanted commitment. So long as it was with Callie.

"Tell her," Richard commanded. He had been alive for a long time, and he had learned his lessons.

"I can't," Arizona insisted meekly. It was too late. Years had passed, and Callie was with Penny. Happy without her.

"Right before Mark went into a coma, he said something," Richard stated. "Do you want to know what?"

No. "Yes." Mark had been her friend – he had been family. And Arizona was still eager to learn about the parts of him she had never known.

"'If you love someone, you tell them.'" Richard knew the words well. Mark's poignant yet sound advice was imprinted on his soul. "'Even if you're scared that it's not the right thing. Even if you're scared that it'll cause problems. Even if you're scared that it'll burn your life to the say it. You say it loud. And then you go from there.'"

He gave Arizona a stern look. "_You tell her_. She's alive. It's not too late."

Inhaling a sharp breath in preparation, Arizona offered a brief nod of her head in understanding.

"Okay," she decided. "I'll tell her."

* * *

**AU 3**

* * *

It had been a tough day for the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital – even tougher than usual.

The ten-car pileup on Highway One had been bad. All the surgeons' patients were dying. Even pregnant mothers. Even kids. Even people with broken bones who had seemed mostly fine. And, while all her friends focused their attention on the emotional residents, Arizona wandered the halls of the hospital in search of a certain orthopedic surgeon.

Arizona knew that Callie'd had some tough losses that day, and she had always taken them harder than anyone.

Arizona didn't know why, but she felt responsible to make sure her ex-wife was okay. She felt like it was something she needed to do.

Having looked everywhere she could think of, Arizona was on the verge of giving up, when she came across the hallway that housed what used to be _their_ on-call room. _It's worth a shot_, she figured, heading towards the door to peek inside. She slowly opened the door…

And there Callie was. Sitting on the bed with her head in her hands.

Sighing in both sympathy and relief, Arizona hurried inside, quickly closing the door behind her.

Callie's head shut up at the sudden noise, and her eyes bulged as she met Arizona's eyes.

"Oh," she excused herself, fiercely wiping her tears away. "I'm sorry. Did you need this room? I can go."

"Don't." Arizona quickly shook her head and, to Callie's shock, moved to sit down beside her. She pursed her lips, feeling oddly shy in the brunette's presence. "I don't need the room. I just needed to know if you were okay."

Callie looked up at Arizona, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Arizona had been looking for her? Specifically?

"I'm okay," she immediately reassured her, not wanting the blonde to worry. "I'm good." She made a move to get up, but Arizona's solemn voice stopped her.

"Callie."

Callie gulped sitting back down on the thin mattress. Arizona knew her. Arizona still knew her. And that meant that she knew when Callie was lying.

Feeling Arizona's concerned eyes on her, Callie finally admitted, "I'm trying to be okay. I know we did everything we could. And I know – whatever I feel – Jo is feeling that times one-thousand, so I'm trying to be strong for her." She screwed her eyes shut, attempting to keep the incoming tears from falling.

She felt Arizona watching her and knew that she must have looked like a crazy person, so she explained, "I'm just trying not to cry," she sniffled. "I'm supposed to be the strong one."

"No," Arizona exhaled. Callie didn't always have to be the strong one. She didn't always have to "fix" everything. Refusal to admit her own pain was – in part – what had led to so much lasting resentment in the first place. "_I'm_ supposed to be the strong one." And she had been, once. Before the plane crash. She had been Callie's safe place to fall, and she had liked that. Then, later, Callie had reciprocated that role for her.

"It's my turn to be strong," Arizona decided. She scooted closer, bringing her arm up to hover over Callie's back, unsure if she had the right to touch her.

Callie looked at her in question. What was Arizona doing?

Arizona patted her shoulder, silently inviting Callie to rest her head on it. "Come on," she insisted. "For the next twenty minutes, you cry."

Callie made no move in the blonde's direction, still hesitant.

Deciding to be brave, Arizona brought her arm down to cradle Callie's back – holding her like her life depended on it. "Go ahead," she assured her. "It's okay. I'll be the strong one."

And, with Arizona's supportive arm around her, Callie could no longer hold back. She rested her head on the shorter woman's shoulder and breast, and she let the tears fall.

"I'm here," Arizona promised, her fingers creating soothing patterns on Callie's back. She felt her breath become shallow as Callie's warmth and scent invaded her every sense. "Whatever you can't do, I will. Okay?"

* * *

**Let me know what you think!**


	125. Chapter 125

**Welp, I uploaded the first half of this fic on Tumblr weeks ago. Sorry it took so long to finish! **

**Let me know what you think! I've said this before and I'll say it again: feedback is really the only pay us fanfic writers get. Leave some lovin' if you like it! It took a long time to write, and I should be studying for finals! :)**

* * *

"Robbins!" Owen Hunt called towards the pediatric surgeon.

Arizona – who had been walking in the opposite direction – turned to face him.

He hurried towards her, explaining, "I just got a call about a school bus crash on 8th Street and M.L.K. The paramedics are evacuating the kids right now, but there are some bad injuries. Can you get your team ready and meet the ambulances outside with me?"

Arizona nodded solemnly, noting the trauma surgeon's frazzled demeanor. The crash must have been bad. "I'll get everyone ready," she promised. As awful as she felt, she couldn't help but also feel a little relieved that she and Callie always drove Sofia to school themselves. She felt reassured that her ex-wife surely had gotten their daughter to school safely that morning.

Still, dozens of other sons and daughters hadn't, so Arizona wasted no time. She alerted all the nurses, residents on their Peds rotations, and Alex about the incoming traumas. Then, she and Alex hurried downstairs to wait outside – gloved and gowned up and ready.

"What kinds of injuries are there?" Jackson questioned Owen. "Did you hear anything?"

Owen shook his head. He didn't know. "I'm sure you'll have plenty to do." He whipped around, searching for someone. "Where's Torres?" he demanded. "There are a fair share of broken bones."

Arizona winced. Even having been a surgeon for a decade, it never got easier to see kids in pain. _It might be even worse now_, she mused, _With Sofia being the same age_. Motherhood had been a blessing in endless ways but, perhaps most notably, it had worked to make her _softer_.

And – often – she found vulnerability to be a fault, but not then. Becoming a mother, coupled with experiencing her own trauma, had made her a better, more compassionate doctor. And that was a strength that was surely about to come in handy.

The automatic doors opened, and Callie came rushing outside. "Do we know what school bus it is?!" She searched everyone's faces, waiting for an answer. "_Well_? Was it the one for Broadview? Thurgood Marshall? Or John Muir?" She needed to know if Sofia was on the bus.

"I don't know," Owen replied honestly.

"Damnit," Callie cursed under her breath.

Arizona turned towards her, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Callie," she soothed. "Even if some of Sof's classmates are on the bus, we'll take care of them. Everything will be okay."

Callie shook her head, refusing to meet concerned blue eyes.

"_Callie_?" Arizona pressed.

"I'm worried about Sofia," Callie confessed, her voice oddly shrill. "I was running late today, so I dropped her off at Rachel's so they could go to school together."

Arizona's eyes widened. "Rachel takes the bus to school."

"I know!" Callie exclaimed. She sighed. "I know."

Arizona felt her heart sprinting in her chest. Her ears began to ring. Her hands were suddenly clammy at the mere possibility of Sofia being in danger.

"It'll be fine, though," Callie vowed, only half-convincingly. "She's probably fine."

Arizona attempted to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. She closed her eyes, centering herself. She had a job to do – they both did – and Sofia was probably fine. Everything would be fine.

Owen looked at her and Callie pointedly. "If Sofia's hurt, you two can stay with her, and I'll page a few residents to help down here."

Callie and Arizona nodded gratefully, both anxious for the ambulances to arrive and for the moment of truth. They stood beside each other, feeling a sense of solidarity between them. The sense of dread, helplessness, and overwhelming fear they were experiencing was something they were going through together.

Finally, three ambulances pulled up, and the paramedics and surgeons began unloading the kids. They got them onto gurneys and into wheelchairs and pushed them into the E.R.

Between all that – chaos turning to order – Callie caught sight of Rachel.

"Rachel?!" she questioned, moving towards the kindergartner. She could do this. She could be a doctor. "Are you okay?"

Biting her lip, the red-haired girl nodded bravely. "We crashed, and it was really scary!"

"I know, sweetie," Callie sympathized. "Your mom will come soon, okay? Where's Sofia?"

"She was crying!" Rachel exclaimed as tears suddenly stung her own green eyes.

"Callie!" she heard someone call from a few yards away. _Arizona_. "_Callie_!"

Callie quickly handed Rachel off to an intern, pushing through orderlies and kids to reach her ex-wife, who was hunched over a gurney. Callie came up behind her and finally saw the tiny person she had been searching for. There Sofia was, lying back against the white sheet, her face red and wet with tears, but conscious. She was okay. She was alive.

"What happened?!" Callie worried, turning towards Arizona for answers.

Arizona offered Sofia her hand, smiling as the little girl eagerly took it. She murmured, "I'm so sorry you're in pain, Sof, but we'll make you feel better soon, okay?" She turned back to face Callie, whispering "It looks like a broken collarbone."

Callie felt her heart momentarily stop. Then, it returned to its normal rhythm.

So, it wasn't great. It was one of the worst bone breaks someone could endure. But it could have been so, so much worse.

Owen – appearing out of nowhere – suddenly dropped his hand onto Callie's shoulder. "Let's get everyone inside, okay?"

Callie nodded and, together, she and Arizona wheeled their daughter into the E.R.

* * *

Sofia needed surgery, and soon. Though the broken clavicle hadn't ruptured any blood vessels or injured any nerves, it was still one of the most painful breaks one could endure. It was especially hard for a five-year-old, but luckily, Alex had given Sofia ample painkillers to lessen the throbbing pain.

Both Callie and Arizona sat at Sof's bedside, holding her hands and fawning over her in that way that only mothers could, when Alex himself walked in. Dr. Miller – an orthopedic surgeon – and every resident in the program trailed behind him.

"Karev…?" Callie questioned, turning to face her old friend.

"Carson and I are doing the surgery," he clarified boldly, daring either of them to argue.

They didn't. They knew better. Family members couldn't do surgery on one another – even if they were the most qualified for the job. Callie and Arizona knew that they had to put trust in their colleagues, at that moment. It was difficult, but it was necessary, they knew.

"Right." Arizona sighed.

"But," Dr. Carson amended, lifting his finger. "We decided that you can pick the resident you trust most to be in there." He signaled towards the residents, and they awkwardly stepped forward. Penny's eyes remained wide and fixed on Callie. She was desperate to help her ex-girlfriend somehow, but she didn't know how. She didn't even really know Sofia. And what could she do? She and Callie had broken up weeks before.

Callie and Arizona just stared at the young, wide-eyed doctors, silently attempting to come to a decision.

"Pick one," Alex encouraged yet again.

"Um, I-" Callie paused, licking her lips. The truth was that she didn't really trust any of them. Not with her daughter. She trusted Penny the most, though, if she had to choose. "Blake," she finally verbalized.

Arizona eyes shot towards Callie's in disbelief. There was no way _in hell_ she was going to let a woman who had been present for Derek's death help with her daughter's surgery. Perhaps Penny was learning and a better surgeon due to her extensive instruction and tuition at Grey-Sloan, but that wasn't saying much. She was terrible to begin with.

"Oh, no," she argued, refusing to allow her ex-wife to make that choice. Just because Callie was dating the resident did not mean she was the best option. And it wasn't just Callie's choice to make. "I want Edwards," she countered.

The doctors looked at Callie – expecting her to argue – but she didn't. She still deeply cared for her ex-girlfriend, but she also still deeply cared for her ex-wife. And, at that moment, Arizona's feelings were more important.

She nodded, her eyes fixed to Arizona's face. "Okay," she surrendered. "If you want Edwards there, then okay."

Arizona met big brown eyes, feeling confused. Why hadn't Callie put up a fight? Why hadn't she fought for her girlfriend?

Unbeknownst to her, Penny and Callie were no longer dating. They had decided that – despite their connection – they were in different places in their lives. They wanted different things and simply weren't compatible, and it was best to move forward separately.

They had chosen to keep their mutual decision fairly private and to remain friends. It was easy. It was cordial. No gossip and no drama.

It also meant, however, that Arizona didn't know about it.

"Edwards it is," Alex decided. He and his team walked towards the bed to roll Sofia towards O.R. Two. "We've got to take her, now," he told his friends. "You can watch from the gallery, but I promise I'll take good care of her."

Arizona offered her protégé a trusting smile. "I know you will."

Still, she and Callie hurried to the O.R. gallery to watch the surgery for themselves. Just in case.

* * *

Arizona paced up and down the tiny room while Callie sat in one of the chairs, attempting to see around her.

"Arizona." She sighed. "Sof will be fine."

"I know." Arizona nodded one too many times. "I know. She'll be fine. Right?"

"Right," Callie concurred. Sofia would be in pain for a few days and would have to heal for a few months, but then she would be fine. Callie trusted Karev – who had learned everything he knew from Arizona – and she trusted Carson, who had been her own student.

Unaffected by Callie's reassurances, Arizona continued pacing, faster and faster. She couldn't believe Sofia had gotten in _another_ car accident. Yet again, she could have died, and Arizona would have been helpless to stop it.

"Arizona," Callie warned, focusing her attention on her ex-wife. "Come here," she urged. "Sit."

Arizona shook her head. What good would sitting do?

"_Please_?"

At that, Arizona stopped. She turned, meeting Callie's pleading eyes. Callie patted the chair beside her, giving Arizona a hopeful smile. Finally, with a frustrated and, more so, terrified huff, Arizona sat down. Instantly, she felt a shiver run through her at the mere feeling of Callie's body heat beside her own. Somehow, it felt both comforting and alienating. It reminded her that she and Callie were one cohesive unit of parentage – coparents – and also that they were nothing more. Coparents were all they would ever be. She wished they still had a chance to be more. She wished she could reach out and intertwine their hands, but she knew she couldn't. Callie had left, Callie had moved on, Callie had a girlfriend.

The only thing that still bound her and Callie together was Sofia.

Beside her, Callie suddenly felt better. Even sitting beside Arizona seemed to help. That alone made her feel better, and more hopeful, and more complete. She wished she could reach for her milk-white hand – an act that would immediately make her feel better – but she knew she couldn't. She and Arizona were done – Arizona was done with her – and they were just…not compatible anymore. They wanted different things. They were too different.

And she couldn't be the person to hold Arizona back – not anymore. She couldn't be the person that couldn't give Arizona everything she deserved. That was why she had left. Both she and Arizona deserved everything they wanted. And, unfortunately, they hadn't been able to give everything to each other.

Leaving had been the right decision. During their time apart, both she and Arizona had thrived. And to continue thriving individually, she knew that she couldn't reach for the blonde. No matter how much she wanted to.

Arizona exhaled a long, calming breath. "She's going to be fine. Carson knows what he's doing."

"He does," Callie confirmed. "And so does Alex." She watched as Arizona slowly nodded, her eyes fixed on the scene below.

Callie smiled. "He's the best there is. He learned from you."

Arizona turned to face the brunette, surprised by her sweet and giving words.

Callie gave her a shy smile, then turned back to watch the surgery.

Arizona followed suit, her features etched with confusion, but her heartbeat content and slow. More than anything, she wished she could ask Callie to try again – for the last time. She wished she could apologize for every mistake she had ever made. She wished that could be enough. She wished she could promise to love Callie with all her body and soul, for the rest of her life, and for Callie to believe her.

She couldn't, though. She had screwed up far too many times before, and nothing she said would ever be enough. Not anymore.

* * *

The surgery went seamlessly. Callie and Arizona hurried to Sofia's room, talking and giggling with her for a few minutes. That is, until the pain medications sunk in and she fell back into blissful sleep.

Callie released a long breath, leaning back in her chair. "Oh, thank god."

Arizona smiled softly. "I know." She was glad Sofia was sleeping. It meant she wasn't in any pain.

Together, they devotedly watched Sofia's calm, sleeping face – each stealing looks at one another when they weren't looking.

Eventually, Callie cleared her throat. "I'm, um. I'm going to get us some food, okay?"

Arizona nodded. "I was hungry this morning but this kind of…took precedence."

"I'll get you something," Callie promised. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Thank you."

Once Callie had left, Sofia briefly woke up and started panicking, and Arizona managed to settle her down by crawling into her bed and letting the little girl cuddle up against her as best she could.

She laid contently with her daughter, wishing that that day – and even the past two years – were only a bad dream. She missed the life she had imagined with Callie, and it broke her heart that the brunette had found someone else. It also pleased her because she wanted Callie to be as happy as she possibly could be. Arizona just wished that _she_ could bring Callie that happiness, again.

Across the hall, Callie exited the elevator and headed for Sofia's room with two pasta salads in hand. She stopped, however, when she caught sight of her ex-wife and daughter, snuggled in bed together. Sofia's head was resting against her soft breast, and Arizona's nimble fingers were running through her silky black hair, providing comfort.

The image was so beautiful and sweet that it both mended Callie's heart and broke it. She missed her family. She missed when Arizona had been her family.

But it didn't matter. Missing alone didn't mean anything. Love alone didn't solve their problems. It came down to them wanting different things. Ultimately, they just didn't belong together, it seemed.

And even thinking that thought tore her to pieces, but it was also the truth. Right?

"She's always fought so hard for that child."

Callie whipped her head around, noticing Chief Bailey, who had silently walked up behind her.

She furrowed her brows, her eyes questioning.

Bailey smiled at the sweet scene in front of them. "Did anyone ever tell you about her and Mark's fight after the car crash?"

Callie shook her head. Then, she remembered, "Oh. The one where he called her 'nothing'?" She knew about that. And she and Mark had both taken Arizona aside and told her just how important she was.

"Do you know what happened before that?"

Callie's eyes widened. "No." Neither Mark nor Arizona had told her anything else.

Bailey offered a sympathetic sigh. "It was touch and go with you for a while, and Sloan and Arizona were trying to decide what to do. Sloan wanted to give you the best shot."

"He wanted to…?" Callie couldn't even finish the sentence. Had Mark wanted to abort Sofia? Just the idea was unimaginable.

Bailey nodded, then nodded towards Arizona. "She was terrified that you wouldn't wake up. But she was _more_terrified that you would wake up and your baby would be gone. We ended up delivering early, as you know." She smiled at Callie. "And then it was Arizona who kept Sofia alive. But, first, she fought for her to stay in longer. She wanted her – and your – daughter to be healthy and happy. She was a mama before she even knew it."

As the words sunk in, a wistful smile bloomed on Callie's face and she turned back to face Arizona and Sofia, secretly watching them through the wide doorway.

Then, her mood soured as she remembered all the hurtful, insecure words she'd thrown at her ex-wife. She had accused Arizona of "never wanting" Sofia, even when it was so clear how much Arizona loved her. In truth, Arizona had become a mother as soon as she had heard Sofia's heartbeat, and Callie had forgotten that.

For a while, most of her memories had been of the bad stuff, and she hadn't been able to help from hurting and punishing Arizona. _Hurt-people hurt people_. The quotation was most certainly true about them – both women had hurt each other repeatedly in the wake of their own pain.

Bailey turned to Callie. It had been a rough day, and so she opted to break her general rule and get a little personal. "You ever wish she fought harder for you?"

Callie turned towards her friend, her eyes flashing in surprise. She sighed. "I wish fighting for each other had been enough."

Bailey gave her a poignant smile, squeezing her shoulder and then walking away.

Callie, in turn, walked into Sofia's room, setting both their pasta salads on the table. She met those big blue eyes that tracked her every move as she self-consciously walked towards the bed. She climbed onto it on Sofia's other side, curling her body towards her daughter and ex-wife. She leaned down to kiss the little girl's head – so close to Arizona's body – and couldn't help but inhale Arizona's delicious scent.

Arizona watched her in silence, feeling like the moment was oddly familial. It was almost as if they were curled up in bed, preparing to tell Sof a bedtime story. It was almost as if they were together. As if Callie still loved her – the way she had once.

Sofia stirred, unconsciously affected by Callie's presence. "Mommy?" she mewed.

Callie leaned in again and kissed Sofia's cheek. "Hey. You feel okay?"

Sleepily, Sof nodded. She opened her eyes, surprised to see that Arizona was still there, too.

"Mommy, you're still here."

Arizona offered her a dazzling smile. "I am, sweetie. We both are."

Sofia smiled contently, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep, again.

Callie released a relieved sigh. Feeling infinite tenderness for Arizona – both because she always did and because of what Bailey had said – she offered, "Close call, huh?"

Arizona exhaled a long sigh, equally as relieved. Her eyes implored Sofia's calm, sleeping face. "This girl…" She shook her head in awe. "She's tough. She's strong." She shyly met Callie's eyes. "Just like her mom."

"Like both of us."

They held each other's eyes for a long moment, and then, hesitantly, Arizona reached out to squeeze Callie's hand.

Callie trembled at the warmth, and then – as fast as it had come – it was gone. Far too soon.

Alex was to thank for the interruption. He strode through the door unannounced, and Arizona jerked her hand away.

"Hey, how's Miss Sofia doing?"

"She's good," Arizona whispered, not wanting to wake her.

"I have some good news."

Callie and Arizona waited.

"She's good to go. We're discharging her. You know the drill for aftercare."

"She's…discharged?" Callie questioned. "Now?"

Alex nodded. "The surgery went perfectly, and it's just a collarbone. You're free to take her home." He turned to go.

"I…" Arizona began uneasily. "It's my night with her."

Callie gulped. That was true, she knew. It was Arizona's night, and Callie didn't have the right to ask for anything. Still, the thought of her not being there in case Sofia needed anything was more than a little painful.

"Did you…" Arizona began uneasily. "I mean, I would want to be close to her if it were your night. Do you want to...come over? Just in case?"

Callie's eyes widened. As much as she had hoped for an invitation, she hadn't been expecting one. "You…wouldn't mind?"

Arizona shook her head.

"You want to?"

Callie offered a sweet smile.

"I'd love to."

* * *

At Sofia's hopeful suggestion, Arizona ended up ordering a pizza for dinner. Generally, pizza served as a treat-dinner on special occasions, and – though the day had certainly been unlucky – Callie and Arizona also acknowledged that it was special. Sofia could have died, after all. In truth, all the kids could have, but luckily, each and every one was okay.

"He said he'll deliver the pizza in about half an hour," Arizona stated, walking into Sofia's room and hung up the phone.

"Yay! Pizza!" Sofia cheered, getting up and attempting to wrap her good arm around Arizona's legs in a modified hug.

Arizona laughed, and Callie looked up from the Barbies she and Sofia had been playing with to watch the sweet interaction. She offered her ex-wife a genuine smile. "I think you just made her year."

Arizona gave Callie a shy smile in return and leaned down to kiss the top of Sofia's head. "You were so brave today, sweetie," she admired. "We're proud of you."

Sofia grinned at the praise, then suggested, "Come play Barbies with us!"

Arizona made a face and – like a true ally – Callie jumped in to save her. "Sof, I think there's some other stuff we need to do before we can keep playing."

Sofia pouted out her lower lip, and Arizona couldn't help but smile at how much the expression reminded her of Callie's.

"What stuff?" she whined.

"Well, little miss," Arizona countered. "_You_ are in need of a little sponge bath, and I need to change the sheets so that Mommy has somewhere to sleep tonight."

Callie furrowed her eyebrows. "You don't need to make any special arrangements for me. I can just sleep on the couch downstairs."

Arizona shook her head decisively. She had considered that option, and she had decided that the couch was far too uncomfortable. And that wouldn't work, because she wanted Callie to be able to sleep that night. She wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. Evidently, her care and tenderness and need to protect Callie had never quite diminished.

_And it never will_, she silently added. How could it?

"DeLuca's on-call all night and said we could use his room, so I'll sleep in there. You can have my bed," Arizona informed her. The intern's bed was only a double, while hers was queen-sized. Callie would surely be most comfortable in hers.

Callie's eyes bulged, then she chuckled, "Arizona, you're already doing me a favor by letting me stay here tonight. I'm not going to ask for your bed, too."

"But I'm offering," Arizona countered stubbornly. "I just need to change the sheets…"

"_I'll_ do that," Callie insisted. She met blue eyes, softly teasing, "At least let me do _that_."

Shuddering at the humor and obvious care in Callie's eyes, Arizona looked down at Sofia, breaking their intense eye contact. "Okay," she surrendered. "Let me go get you some sheets."

After giving Callie two pairs of clean sheets, Arizona locked herself and Sofia in the bathroom, hiding from Callie's curiosity-filled eyes. She exhaled a deep breath. She had moved on. She had dated and had sex with other women. Sure, she had proceeded to realize that wasn't what she really wanted anymore, but still. She wasn't pining. She had accepted her and Callie's fate: that they had to exist apart, rather than together.

But, ultimately, none of those truths changed the fact that love didn't really disappear. More than that, her love for Callie was likely everlasting. And, with that in mind, Arizona hoped that the few minutes away from her ex-wife would help her breathe. If not, she was in trouble.

Callie was happy. She was happy with Penny, and Arizona didn't want to mess that up.

She had no right to mess that up, and doing so would be selfish.

Across the hall, Callie lined DeLuca's bed with clean sheets and then walked towards Arizona's room to do the same. Once she got there, however, she paused. She realized that it was the first time she was seeing Arizona's room. She approached the space carefully, as if it were a sacred church in the Vatican rather than an oversized box that housed the blonde's bed and personal items.

The room wasn't quite what Callie had expected. It was certainly bright – with big windows and white walls – but there were definitely several aspects that were more…what had Arizona once said? "_Edgy_." For example, her bedspread was dark – with deep purples and reds – and a chrome-framed clock adorned wall opposite it. Callie remembered that she'd had a similar wall-clock when she and Arizona had first started dating.

Still, refusing to let thoughts of the past deter her from her mission, she stripped the sheets and replaced them with those she would sleep on later that evening. As she carried Arizona's worn sheets towards the laundry hamper, she instinctively lifted the pillowcase up to her nose. She inhaled a long breath, reveling in Arizona's homey, warm-cotton scent and committing it to memory once more.

"Callie!" Arizona ducked into the room, and Callie desperately threw the sheets into the hamper, her guilty eyes flashing towards the blonde.

"Yes?" Her voice came out a little too high, and she was sure Arizona noticed. She felt her face burning with embarrassment. _God_.

She didn't comment on it, though. "Sof is all clean, and I left you a pair of pajamas and a spare toothbrush in the bathroom. Do you need anything else?"

"No," Callie shook her head, regaining her composure. "Thank you, though. For everything. Really." She smiled gratefully at Arizona, and it pleased her when the blonde responded with one in kind.

Finally, forcefully tearing her gaze away from her ex-wife's face, Arizona hitched her thumb behind her. "Um, Sofia and I were just going to go downstairs and wait for the pizza."

"Right." Callie nodded one too many times. "I'll come, too."

* * *

"So," Callie cleared her throat, setting down her pizza slice. "How have you been, lately? I hear you've been dating." She could do this. She could have a normal, _friendly_ conversation with her ex-wife. It couldn't be too hard.

Arizona's eyes shot up towards Callie's face. "Wh-? Who told you that?" A few months before, she had – in all honesty – been a little…promiscuous. And, at first, it had been fun. After a while, though, she realized that she didn't really _enjoy_ it. Before Callie, she had liked one-night stands with women whose names she could never remember. But, then, she had settled down. She had fallen in love. She'd had a daughter, and she had created meaningful relationships.

Dates and hookups with nameless women no longer interested her, as it turned out.

Still, who the hell had told Callie about her recent dating history? She made a mental note to punch them in the face. Or, well, at least in the shoulder.

"DeLuca was on my service the other day," Callie explained. Then, noticing Arizona's lips set into an angry line, she pleaded, "Don't be mad at him. I'm happy for you." She was trying to be, anyway. Arizona deserved to be happy. "It sounds fun. And at least _one_ of us should be having some fun."

Arizona knit her eyebrows together. "Penny's not fun?" she pressed. Always a pushover, she had allowed Sofia to eat her pizza while watching 'Frozen,' "_but just this once_." Given the subject matter of their conversation, she was grateful that their daughter was in a different room.

"She is," Callie quickly defended. "I just…didn't want to have fun with her anymore."

"You broke up?" When had _that_ happened?

Callie nodded.

"_Why_?" As far as Arizona knew, Callie and Penny had been together for quite some time, even despite a few short breakups. She had thought that her ex-wife had truly loved the resident, and perhaps even foreseen a future with her. She felt her eyes bulging at the new information.

Callie shrugged. "We weren't compatible. We wanted different things. And, anyway," she added. "I didn't really see a future with her. With you…I always knew. Even before we first said 'I love you,' I thought about us getting married and having kids."

Arizona felt her heartbeat speed up. She gulped. That was something else she hadn't known.

"So you should have fun," Callie lied, her smile slipping. "You deserve it."

"I'm happy just having fun with Sof, these days," Arizona smirked. "I think I'm done having the other kind of fun for a while."

"Are you thinking about becoming a nun?" Callie joked, more than happy to lighten the mood.

"No." Arizona chuckled. "I mean…" She sighed. How could she explain it? "I've changed. You know?"

Callie waited.

"Being with you – loving you – _changed_ me."

Callie felt her heart take off in her chest.

Arizona shrugged helplessly. "Thoughtless sex doesn't make me happy, anymore. That's all."

Callie attempted to hide her smile, feeling oddly relieved to hear Arizona's words. _Not oddly_, she corrected herself. _You know_ exactly _why you feel relieved_. In truth, the thought of her ex-wife sleeping with other women still made her sick to her stomach. Even years after their divorce.

Feeling suffocated by the tension of unspoken words that filled the room, Arizona made a move to stand up. "We should probably get her to bed."

"Right!" Callie jumped up, eager to follow. She knew Arizona well, and so she knew about her need for space and time when emotions ran high. Before the divorce, she often had demanded an immediate response from Arizona. In retrospect, however, she knew better.

_We'll talk more later_, Callie reassured herself.

* * *

Callie and Arizona both put Sofia to bed, then headed towards their respective rooms to get ready for sleep themselves.

Arizona stepped out of the bathroom, noticing that her bedroom door was open, her light was off, but Callie was nowhere in sight. Curiosity – and perhaps the odd vibrations she felt swelling in her chest – got the best of her, and Arizona tiptoed downstairs in search of her ex-wife.

She walked towards the low-lighted living room, pausing when she noticed that Callie was sitting on the couch, seemingly waiting for her.

Callie looked up, noticing her ex-wife's reluctant expression. She smiled nervously and held up two mugs. "I made tea," she offered hopefully.

Arizona exhaled a long breath. How was it that Callie always seemed to know just what she needed? She walked towards the couch, sitting beside her ex-wife. She made sure to keep some space between them. "Thank you."

"You gave me your bed," Callie reminded her jovially. "The least I could do was heat up some hot water for tea."

Arizona smiled gratefully, lifting the mug to her lips and tasting the sweet lavender-chamomile tea. It seemed to calm her nerves a little.

"I never should have said you didn't want her."

Sculpted eyebrows knit in confusion at Callie's abrupt statement. _Huh_? Arizona turned towards her, waiting for answers.

"In therapy," Callie amended, forcing herself to meet Arizona's soulful eyes. "I was cruel. I was wrong."

Arizona nodded softly, remembering Callie's harsh words. "You _were_ wrong. I love Sofia more than…anything." Sofia was the best part of her life. She was her world.

"I know," Callie beamed. "And I knew it then, too. I was just…"

"You were angry," Arizona finished. "We both were. And that anger made us hurt each other."

"_Oooh_, yeah," Callie remembered. Still, she managed to say the words with some humor in her voice. After all, the pain had subsided. Time had passed, wounds had healed, and she no longer held anything against Arizona.

"Callie?" the blonde began carefully.

"Hmm?"

"Is that why you left?" She had never asked what she had always truly wanted to know. What had been the final straw? The cheating? The surrogacy? When had the woman who had been her wife decided that enough was enough?

"Because we hurt each other?" Callie questioned, needing clarification.

Arizona nodded.

Callie looked thoughtful for a moment. "A little," she confessed. "But, also, I convinced myself that we had different priorities. That, after everything, we had become too different. Everything was just _hard_. And I didn't want to be the person who held you back from your dreams, or made you feel bad for having them. And I was that person."

_That makes sense_, Arizona admitted to herself, on the surface. In fact, everything had changed. It had all been hard. And – at the time – Arizona had felt selfish for wanting to do the fetal fellowship.

Callie offered a poignant smile. "You know, I was still in love with you on the night I left that office." She knew saying that might be inappropriate, but it was also the truth. And she wanted to be honest. Somehow, that night felt like one for honesty.

Arizona shyly dimpled. "I was, too," she breathed. A part of her – a big, big part – always would be.

"Arizona," Callie breathed. In that moment, all she could think about was how all the reasons they broke up weren't really reasons, anymore. What space was left between them?

They both were okay on their own. They both had tended to their old wounds, as they faded to scars, and then to nothing at all. And, presently, they both had similar priorities.

Arizona gulped, feeling intense brown eyes on her and hearing Callie's suddenly shallow breathing. The love of her life had just exhaled her name with endless love and desire behind the sound, and Arizona felt her hair stand on end.

Carefully, she brought her eyes up to meet her ex-wife's. "_Calliope_." Her voice was so haunted and filled with emotion that it almost sounded foreign to her. What sounded familiar, though, was the way Callie's breath hitched at the way she said her name.

Callie felt herself instinctively leaning towards Arizona, her eyes landing on pink lips.

A few inches away, Arizona did the same, leaning in so close that she could feel Callie's breath fall against her lips.

Then, she could feel the warmth radiating off Callie's skin, so close to her own.

Their lips were a hair's breadth away from finally meeting.

Callie felt her stomach doing backflips in anticipation. Arizona felt her heart beating in her ears.

"Wait." Arizona kept from making that final move forward but, to Callie's relief, she didn't pull away, either.

"What?" Callie whispered, using all her willpower not to just capture her ex-wife's lips in a searing kiss. If they were going to be at all physical with each other, she wanted to make sure that they both truly wanted it. She needed to know that Arizona truly wanted _her_, and that that wouldn't change.

"I messed things up before," Arizona reminded her. "Remember?"

Callie waited. Of course she remembered. She just didn't care. Not anymore. They had _both_ hurt each other. And they had both healed.

"Everything was already so hard, and I made you feel worse." Arizona pulled back. She wanted Callie. God, she wanted Callie more than anything. Not just then. Not just to kiss, but forever.

She couldn't stand the thought of having her momentarily and then losing her again. And, even more than that, she couldn't stand the thought of hurting the woman she loved again. Not in the same way, of course – Arizona knew for certain that she would never, ever, ever cheat on anyone ever again – but in any way at all.

Up until the plane crash, she had loved Callie selflessly – as selflessly as she could, anyway. More than anything, she had wanted a life with her, and – more than anything – Callie had wanted a baby. So Arizona had let her go.

Again, she had let her go rather than dragging her to Africa, because she had known that Callie hadn't truly wanted to go. Callie only had been going for her.

All she had ever wanted was for Callie to be happy and to be able to _make_ Callie happy. And she had endless proof that her ex-wife had felt the same way about her.

But she had messed things up. Callie had already been hurting, and Arizona had made her feel worse. Not only that, but two years had passed since their split. Did they really have the right to try again?

She needed time to think. "I-I'm sorry."

Callie sat back, exhaling a long breath, ignoring the feeling of her fraying heart in her chest. "Don't be," she pleaded. She understood why Arizona was scared, and she couldn't fault her for that.

Arizona sighed, already feeling colder with Callie's body a mere foot away from hers. "We should probably go to sleep. We can…talk more in the morning."

"Right," Callie whispered. Arizona needed more space to think. She could give her that.

They trudged up the stairs, each woman too absorbed in her thoughts to exchange polite pleasantries.

Arizona hid away in the bathroom to wash her face, and Callie checked-in on Sofia, wanting to see Arizona one last time before sleep. When the blonde exited the bathroom and limped towards DeLuca's room, Callie hurried out. She stood in the doorway and watched her ex-wife pull down the sheets of the bed.

"For the record," Callie began.

Arizona looked up, surprised.

"You're not what makes me feel worse," she promised. "You're what makes me feel better."

Arizona just stared at her, wide-eyed and speechless, so Callie took that as her cue to go. "Goodnight." She backed out into the narrow hallway, walking towards the room where she would spend the night. She left the door wide open, not wanting Arizona to think she was closing herself off. She climbed into bed, breathing in the scent of her ex-wife's laundry detergent and lying flat on her back. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep for a while.

* * *

An hour later, Arizona was lying in DeLuca's bed, still not even close to sleep. She felt restless. Antsy. She didn't want the night to end. She and Callie had finally been honest with one another, and she worried that the magic might disappear by morning.

It terrified her to try again, and yet, it was all she wanted to do. She wanted Callie and – according to her ex-wife – Callie wanted her, too. And Callie had said that Arizona made her 'feel better.' So what the hell was Arizona doing, lying in an unfamiliar bed instead of talking to the woman she loved?

Drawing in a determined breath, Arizona sat up, expertly donning her prosthesis and then walking across the hallway and towards Callie. She leaned against the doorframe, silently looking at her ex-wife, who was lying like a corpse, with her eyes fixed to the feeling.

Callie felt Arizona's presence, and she knew that the blonde could see that she was awake, but neither woman said anything.

Finally, Arizona offered, "I can't sleep."

Callie sat up, supporting herself by her arms. "Me neither," she admitted.

"About earlier…" Arizona began, taking a brave step into the room. "I don't want you to think I didn't want to." She had wanted to kiss Callie, alright. More than anything.

"It's okay, Arizona," Callie whispered. "You don't have to say something you don't mean." Maybe she had read the signs wrong. Maybe Arizona didn't want her as much as she wanted Arizona.

"_I mean it_," Arizona swore, eyes wide in surprise. Of course she meant it. How could Callie ever think otherwise? "I always want you."

Callie inhaled sharply. "Yeah," she agreed, her breathing shaky. She always wanted Arizona, too. She had just ignored the feeling until that day and evening.

"But I want a lot more than just to kiss you," Arizona continued, feeling a renewed sense of confidence, as she finally accepted her true feelings. "I want a life together."

Relieved to hear those emotion-filled words, Callie held out one of her hands, beckoning Arizona over. "Come here."

Slowly, the blonde walked towards Callie, silently appreciating how _right_ the brunette looked in her bed. It was just one more thing they were meant to share.

She sat on the edge of the mattress, her eyes never straying from Callie's.

Inches away, Callie implored Arizona's baby blues, searching for any hint of hesitation. When she found none, she told the truth. "I love you."

Arizona beamed at the words she had ached to hear, her eyes filling with happy tears. She brought her hand up to cup Callie's cheek, devotedly running her thumb down smooth caramel skin. "I love you, too."

Small smiles adorning their faces, Callie and Arizona began leaning forward, and – that time – neither woman felt the need to pull away. No uncertainty or fear remained. Only love.

Their lips met, their warm mouths immediately opening, and Arizona whimpered at the feeling of Callie's wet and gentle tongue molding against her own. Callie felt an electric shock jolt through her abdomen at the beautifully arousing sound, moaning in response. She reached for a narrow waist, pulling Arizona closer as milky hands knotted in thick black hair.

Callie's hands began exploring the soft skin under the blonde's t-shirt, needing more contact, and she felt a shaky breath escape Arizona's lips at the tender feeling. "Callie…" she began breathily, both endless love and endless desire evident in her voice.

Callie insistently kept their lips together, smiling into the kiss. She couldn't believe that she and Arizona still managed to have such a magnetic effect over each other, even after so much time apart.

Arizona kissed the brunette back with an insatiable need. She had never wanted Callie so much. And she had never wanted to _show_ her how much she wanted her so much. She sucked a full bottom lip into her mouth, grinning as she felt Callie groan against her pink lips. The erotic sound shot straight down to her bundle of nerves.

Suddenly: "Mommy?"

At the sound of their little girl's voice, Callie and Arizona quickly drew back, momentarily forgetting that the new shift between them was _good_.

Sofia shuffled in, cradling her teddy bear and dragging her blanket behind her. Even in the low light, Callie and Arizona could see that she was teary-eyed. However, when she saw her moms nearly wrapped around each other on the bed, she smiled. "Are you having a sleepover?" she asked knowingly.

Arizona blushed, but Callie just chuckled. She met Arizona's eyes and reached for her hand, reassuringly squeezing it. "Yes we are, honey. You want to join us?"

Sofia nodded in excitement, her shoulder pain already forgotten. She scampered towards the opposite side of the bed, throwing the blankets over herself. "Come, Mommy," she insisted, patting the space in the middle of the bed.

Callie offered Arizona a teasing smile. "Yeah, 'come, Mommy,'" she endorsed.

Arizona smiled, fearlessly removing her prosthesis, setting it down on the floor, and then moving into the narrow space between Callie and Sofia.

Noticing Sof's big brown eyes fixed on her, Arizona leaned down and kissed her forehead. "'Night, sweetheart."

Callie reached over Arizona, briefly rubbing her hand over Sofia's little belly. "Goodnight, baby," she added.

Sofia closed her eyes, her sleepiness taking over. "'Night, mommies."

A moment later, Arizona laid on her back, her face turned towards Callie.

Callie felt herself smile at the unmistakable, uncontrollable _joy_ in Arizona's expression. "What is it?" she wondered, working hard to keep her voice quiet.

"Nothing," Arizona shrugged, grinning. "I just…I missed you. And I love you. And, now, we're a family again."

Callie beamed in return, leaning down to give the woman she loved a long, lingering kiss. "We are," she promised. _Finally_. She turned over, lying on her back beside Arizona. She noticed that – in sleep – Sofia had burrowed herself into Arizona's side, and the blonde had wrapped her arm around her.

She found her other arm under the blankets and smiled when Arizona intertwined their fingers.

The blonde closed her eyes, exhaling a contented breath, never having felt so much love. She was exactly where she wanted to be: between the two people she loved infinitely. "I feel like I'm finally home again," she murmured. "Does that make sense?"

"It makes sense," Callie vowed, squeezing the hand that fit perfectly within her own. She closed her eyes, certain that she would sleep better than she had in months. "I love you. And _you're_ my home."


	126. Chapter 126

**Written after 12x13, inspired by 12x15. Total AU. Please let me know what you think! :)**

**Oh, and I wrote this instead of studying for finals! Wish me luck on those!**

* * *

"I need your help."

Callie looked up from her paperwork, surprised to see Arizona standing in front of her. It surprised her not only because it was rare for them to talk these days, but also because the blonde was independent to a fault. She was also stubborn, so – if she were asking for help – she must have needed it desperately.

"April's pregnant," Arizona supplied.

Callie's jaw dropped. "What?" April and Jackson had just divorced, and now she was pregnant? "Is it Jackson's?"

Arizona looked around her, searching for any wayward eavesdroppers. Then, she nodded. "And it has Osteoporosis Imperfecta. Again."

"_No_," Callie exhaled in sympathy. What terrible luck. "Does he know?"

"He doesn't know anything," Arizona confessed. "But she's telling him now."

Slowly, Callie nodded. Then, she remembered, "Why do you need my help?" Her friends' situation was tragic, but what did it have to do with her?

Arizona backtracked. "He has Type 1. He can live this time! But his bones are already breaking – they're weakest in-utero. I need help setting them so he won't have lasting malformations."

Callie's eyebrows flew up. "You're…going to set _a fetus's_ broken bones?"

Arizona gave a cool, nonchalant shrug. Yeah, that was the plan. "I'm going to try. But I can't do it alone."

Callie looked away, nodding almost imperceptibly as she weighed her options.

In her heart, however, she admitted that she only really had one option: to do the surgery. To help April and Jackson. And Arizona.

Callie looked up as Arizona waited, filled with so much hope and anxiety that it almost hurt to look at. "Okay," she agreed. "We'll do it. We'll do it together."

Arizona exhaled a long sigh of relief. She felt personally responsible for helping her friends, for some reason. April had lost enough. And she'd already lost her baby once. Arizona knew that pain. She didn't want her best friend to experience something so awful again. Especially not if she and Callie had the power to make a difference.

"Thank you, Callie."

* * *

Everything between April and Jackson was a mess, but – finally – Jackson offered his blessing for the surgery. And that meant that Callie and Arizona needed to practice the surgery. Often.

After all, what they were planning to do was unheard of: to set a fetus's growing bones was unheard of. Even so, it was doable, if they only worked together.

"Damn it!" Callie swore, throwing down her surgical instrument. "I messed up again!" She threw her hands over her face. They must have tried the maneuver twenty times and, every time, she messed up.

On the other side of the table, Arizona set down her own scalpel. Reassuringly, she soothed, "Callie, it's okay. We'll get it right."

Shaking her head, Callie briefly lifted her hands off her face to meet patient blue eyes. "I don't know if we can do this."

"We can," Arizona swore.

Callie's testy expression conveyed her clear doubt.

"Callie." Arizona rolled her eyes in loving disbelief. She knew that – a few weeks before – Callie'd had a big win. Even more recently, Arizona'd had a win of her own. They were good, passionate doctors, and they worked well together. Why was Callie so worried? "What are you thinking?"

Callie sighed in defeat. "It's just…Well, you said that – if something goes wrong – we'll have to perform a hysterectomy. And April will lose the baby and never be able to try again." She couldn't help to think about her own experiences: how she'd almost lost Sofia, and how she'd lost the ability to carry a child again.

And Arizona knew that. "Okay," she nodded decisively. "We'll work on a better plan then, okay? And it'll work."

Callie nodded in agreement, immensely grateful for her ex-wife's optimism. "It has to."

* * *

After so many days of practicing without success, Arizona made it her mission to find an easier way for Callie to perform her impossible maneuver. She called and wrote surgeons from all around the world, searching for that fix that might not even exist. Finally, a few sleepless nights later, she got into contact with a surgeon from Tokyo who was actually helpful. Together, they decided that – by using a smaller instrument and by changing the angle of an unconscious April – Callie and Arizona would be able to do the surgery.

"Oh, thank you so much, Chimiko!" Arizona gushed. "I hope to work with you one day."

"With you, as well, _Ahrizona_," the man on the other end of the line smiled. "Please tell me how goes the surgery."

"I will," Arizona promised, grabbing her car keys from the kitchen counter. She wanted to go tell Callie; right away. "I'll talk to you soon."

* * *

Arizona was so eager to tell Callie about her news – in person – that she hadn't even called before showing up at her doorstep. She knocked on the door, bouncing on her toes (as much as she could with a prosthesis) as she impatiently waited for her ex-wife to invite her inside.

A minute later, Callie finally opened the door, confusion on her face and tears in her eyes. "Arizona?" she gaped. What was her ex-wife doing there, unannounced? And at 9:30 p.m., no less.

"Hi," Arizona chirped enthusiastically. Then, she stopped short, noting the pain in Callie's expression. Callie had been crying. And the idea alone made Arizona feel sick to her stomach. The thought of something upsetting the brunette broke her heart in parts she hadn't even known. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

Callie sniffled once and nodded bravely. She had spent the past hour wallowing in her misery, but she was fine. Nothing terrible had happened. It was just one of those nights when she was overcome by lasting pain.

She opened the door more widely, inviting Arizona inside. "Did you have something to tell me?"

Distracted by Callie's pain, Arizona could only answer absentmindedly. "Yeah." She walked further into the grand house, her cautious eyes never straying from her ex-wife's face. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Callie gulped, shaking her head. "_No_." She chuckled darkly. "It's not your problem. I shouldn't even be dwelling on it, myself." She forced a smile onto her face, motioning towards the couch. "Please, sit down. I'll make us some tea."

Callie turned towards the kitchen, and Arizona stopped her, impulsively reaching up to touch her shoulder.

Callie froze, steadily turning her head to meet Arizona's eyes.

The blonde smiled kindly. "Will you sit? Please?" she pleaded. She knew it wasn't her job to help Callie anymore, but well, she couldn't help that she wanted to. For some reason…she needed to protect her like she needed air. She couldn't help it. "I'll make the tea. Your kitchen may be big, but I can still find my way around." She gave Callie's arm a gentle squeeze, then headed towards the kitchen herself.

Knowing better than to stubbornly follow, Callie dissolved into the plush loveseat in the living room. She closed her eyes, silently praying for strength. She felt ridiculous for being upset. She was a strong, independent, grown up. What was she doing _still_ crying over this, years later?

Eventually, Arizona walked in, carefully handing Callie a mug of peppermint tea. "It's hot," she warned.

Callie smiled softly. "Thank you." She set her mug on a coaster and turned to face the blonde. "Sooo," she prompted, matching the blonde's previous excitement. "Did you want to tell me something?"

"Oh!" Arizona remembered, setting down her tea. "I've been doing research," she explained. "Calling people. Trying to find a way for your maneuver to actually work. And Chimiko, this surgeon in Japan, and I finally figured it out." She proceeded to give an in-depth explanation of how the updated maneuver would work.

Listening closely, Callie nodded emphatically, visualizing the surgery in her head. "I think I could do that," she agreed. "I think…" She locked her eyes with Arizona's, breaking into a smile. "We can actually do this. We can save Kepner's baby."

Arizona offered a grin in return, silently admiring her ex-wife's overwhelming inner and outer beauty. "We can," she countered.

Callie's smile widened as Arizona dimpled. She couldn't deny that the blonde made her feel better just by being there. Maybe she was with Penny, and maybe Arizona was dating other women, but that didn't minimize their soulful connection – even if it couldn't be romantic, anymore.

"_Thank you_," Callie vowed. "For doing all that. For helping."

Arizona shrugged it off. It had hardly been a burden. First, because April was her best friend, and second, because she had known that Callie was capable of the seemingly impossible.

Arizona had only proposed the updated strategy. Ultimately, it was Callie who would produce the magic.

Her smile waning, the blonde thoughtfully explored big, brown eyes.

"What?" Callie wondered, immediately noting Arizona's pensive expression.

"You don't have to tell me," Arizona assured. "But I was wondering…What happened tonight?" Not even an hour before, the brunette had opened the door with tears in her eyes. What had been wrong?

Callie exhaled a long, tired breath. "It was nothing." She paused, feeling those watchful eyes on her. She turned back to face Arizona. "It was my mom's birthday last week. And I sent her a card and flowers – like I do every year – and she didn't even call to thank me. _Again_," she added darkly. "I just keep waiting for her to realize that a good God wouldn't care about who I love, as long as I spread that love, you know? But I just need to accept that she never will." She shrugged, forcing herself to say the words in the hopes that they might help her cope with the reality. "She's never going to speak to me again. I just need to accept that."

Arizona released a forlorn – and angry, almost – sigh. For so many reasons, she was grateful for Lucia. She was the reason for Callie, after all.

But, on the other hand, a part of her despised the woman. Arizona resented her for being selfish and hateful, and for bringing Callie so much continuous pain. It simply wasn't fair.

"I can't believe she doesn't know how miraculous you are."

Callie's eyebrows shot up. _What_?

"She just…" Arizona shook her head in disbelief. "She has no idea."

"Arizona…" Callie warned, blushing. Her ex-wife didn't have to reassure her. She was sweet to do so, but Callie was fine.

"No." Arizona shook her head, suddenly consumed with conviction. "She has _no idea_ what she's missing," she repeated, impassioned. "Callie, I fell in love within days of knowing you. And even when I messed up, even when things were hard, I didn't stop. I _couldn't_ stop," she added.

Callie's eyes remained fixed to Arizona's, and she tried to hide the small smile that quickly bloomed on her lips.

"I'm serious," Arizona swore. "You are the most amazing, brilliant, caring person I've ever known. And your ability to fall in love with anyone – regardless of gender – is a strength, not a weakness."

"I always thought…" Callie began, remembering their conversations from years ago about how she was bisexual.

"I was jealous of Mark," Arizona explained, knowingly answering Callie's question. "And I was more naïve before. But I always loved you. Every part of you. Even the parts I didn't understand. That's how love's supposed to work."

"Yeah, it is," Callie agreed. That was the way it had always worked with Arizona. She had loved her. Every part of her. "I don't think that's how my mom feels, though."

Arizona inhaled a sharp breath, determined to keep her cool – no matter how angry she was with Lucia. "Yeah," she breathed. "And she's missing out, by not knowing you."

"You think?" Callie whispered. Generally, she prided herself on being self-assured. That night, however, she felt vulnerable. And Arizona's quiet, loving words certainly weren't helping that. They made her feel small in a good way, though. They made her feel strong and _seen_.

Arizona nodded. "I do. Because people talk. People feel lucky to know you."

Callie grinned, knowing her ex-wife well enough to decipher the truth behind her words. "I feel lucky to know you, too."

* * *

Callie and Arizona had done it. They had succeeded at doing the seemingly impossible: they had set a fetus's broken bones, inside the womb. They had fixed him. They had helped their friends' and their baby. They had done it together.

And, standing outside April's recovery room, watching her and Jackson interact without awkwardness or spite for the first time in weeks, Callie suddenly wondered: "Why were you so determined to do this surgery?"

Her blue eyes still fixed on the familial scene on the other side of the window, Arizona replied honestly. "I couldn't stand the thought of another baby dying – of April losing everything, again. Losing Samuel was her plane crash. It made her unrecognizable. It made her do things she can never take back." She risked a look at Callie. "I couldn't let her go through that twice. Not after finally finding herself again."

Callie met her eyes. "It seems like you found yourself again, too." It was clear to her how entirely her ex-wife had recovered. She had regained her confidence, her values, and her sense of self. Arizona had moved forward and become someone even better than the woman she had been before the crash.

Both of them had moved forward and become better people, because of their struggles.

"I have," Arizona smiled. Then, she sighed. "But know that April and Jackson have such a long road ahead of them. Having a baby with OI is hard, even if it's Type 1. I want to take their pain away, and it kills me that I can't."

Callie's eyes widened as a sentence formed in her head. Even thinking the words surprised her, but she realized then that they were the truth. Tenderly, she implored Arizona's compassionate blue eyes.

"You take my pain away."


	127. Chapter 127

**A quick AU. Let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Callie." Arizona cleared her throat. She was burying her fear and being brave.

The night before – nearly 24 hours ago – she had her true, long-lasting feelings.

And Callie, who had been flustered and caught off guard, had insisted that they were _just friends_.

"'Cause I'm with Penny," she'd added.

"Right," Arizona had responded, dropping her eyes to the floor. "Just friends. 'Cause you're with Penny."

And, over the course of the last day, she had carefully considered both her own feelings and Callie's response. She loved Callie. Completely and endlessly. She knew that. And she wanted her ex-wife back.

But Callie didn't seem to feel the same. She essentially had said that she chose Penny, instead.

Or had she? Was Penny the one she loved, or simply the one she was with? Was she only a small obstacle standing in the way of Callie and Arizona's happiness? Was Callie only using her as an excuse because she was scared?

Arizona was going to find out.

Callie froze, carefully turning to face her ex-wife. She had successfully avoided the blonde all day, but that hadn't stopped her thoughts from wandering. All she could think about was Arizona and how she still loved her so entirely. But she was scared.

Arizona began walking towards her, and Callie felt herself shiver in anticipation. "What is it?" she croaked, attempting to keep her voice hard without success.

"Until today, I couldn't figure out what you were doing with someone like Penny," Arizona admitted. She acknowledged that she sounded petty, but it was the truth. And she wanted to tell Callie the truth.

"Oh," Callie verbalized inarticulately. She didn't trust herself to say anything else.

"But I get it now," Arizona continued. "_I get it_. She's simple. Your relationship – for the most part – is simple. There are no fights over babies or mass shootings or plane crashes. No history."

Callie inhaled a sharp breath.

"Calliope," Arizona breathed. "All that history just proves we should be together. I'm standing in front of you, telling you I'm still in love with you – that I'll always be in love with you – and I think part of you knows that you feel the same."

"I…" Callie began, ready to admit that, _yeah, I feel the same_.

"No," Arizona shook her head, interrupting. She wanted Callie to really think about it before making more excuses. "I'm fighting for you, here! I'm being a good man in a storm. I'm saying I love you and will _keep_ loving you, more and better than anyone else. I'm fighting for you, and I won't stop until you tell me to and mean it."

"Arizona…" Callie tried again, a hint of a smile teasing her lips.

Noticing Callie's amused expression, Arizona closed her mouth and met loving brown eyes.

"I'm not going to tell you to stop."

Arizona's eyebrows flew up.

"Did you really think it was just you?" Callie wondered. "If I had thought I'd still had a chance with you, I would've fought for you months ago."

Arizona's breath hitched at the implication: that Callie had never stopped loving her, either. "Really?"

Callie nodded, a blinding, loving smile blooming on her lips, her eyes shining. "I'm in love with you," she swore. "And, right now, I need to go tell Penny, so that I can tell you and show you just how much."

She smirked at Arizona's lovestruck expression, leaning in to chastely kiss a porcelain cheek. Arizona threaded her fingers through black hair, forcing Callie to stay for another moment – lips pressed to cheek.

Both women closed their eyes, inhaling the scent and reveling in the softness of each other.

Then, Arizona let her go.

"Stay here," Callie grinned. "Don't move. Wait for me."


	128. Chapter 128

**Inspired by what we know about 12x16 so far. Very AU. **

**Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Callie was sitting at Sofia's bedside and having a grave conversation with the babysitter. She abruptly stopped talking, however, when a nurse checking Sofia's vitals whispered in her ear, "Dr. Robbins is here."

Callie's head shot up and, immediately, she made her way towards Arizona, who was stumbling over her own feet as she raced towards her daughter's hospital gurney. "What the hell happened?!"

Callie put up her hands, careful to keep her voice soft to help calm her terrified ex-wife. "Hey, she's fine," Callie assured her. "Claudia brought her to the park, she was playing tag with some other kids, and she ran into a pole hit her head."

"Oh my god," Arizona worried, side-stepping around Callie and hurrying towards Sofia's bedside. She had a few butterfly bandages on her forehead but appeared to have no other injuries, thankfully.

"Mommy!" Sofia exclaimed as soon as she saw the blonde, relieved to finally see her other mom.

"Hey, sweetie," Arizona exhaled in relief, leaning down to place a soft kiss on her daughter's head.

"I hit my head," Sofia explained to Arizona, thankful that the pain had finally begun to subside.

"I know," Arizona lamented, running a soothing hand through Sof's black mane. "Mommy said you've been _so_ brave, though. Does anything else hurt?"

Sofia shook her head.

Just then, Alex strode up towards Arizona. "Hey, did you page me for someth-" He stopped short as soon as he noticed Sofia, lying down and bandaged. "Hey, kiddo! What happened to you?" He looked towards Callie, whispering, "She okay?"

Callie nodded. "Thankfully."

"Alex!" Sofia grinned.

"Hey, you." He walked towards her bedside, offering a high-five and then putting on his stethoscope. "I'm just going to make sure everything else is still good, okay?"

Sofia nodded bravely, thankful to be surrounded by her mothers and one of her many uncle-figures. They were far better company than her mom's girlfriend, who had bandaged her up beforehand.

"You going to be okay with Alex for a minute, sweetie?" Callie prompted. "Mommy and I have to do a little paperwork.

"I'm okay," Sofia promised.

"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on each other," Alex winked conspiratorially at Sof, making her laugh.

"Okay," Arizona grinned, dropping one last kiss on her daughter's cheek. "Be right back. Promise." She followed Callie towards the nurse's station, and Callie asked, "Did you have surgery?" She wondered why it had taken her ex-wife so long to come down to the ER.

Arizona furrowed her brows. "No…" She paused, processing. "When did she get hurt?! A nurse just told me."

Callie's eyes widened in surprise. How had no one told Arizona? "She, uh. She's been here for an hour."

"_What_?" Arizona barked. "Why didn't you page me?"

"I thought you already knew! I figured you'd been paged, too!" Callie defended. "I…" She caught Penny's eye in the distance, gulping.

In front of her, Arizona was irate – silent, but obviously consumed with fear and anger. She was Sofia's mother. Just as much as Callie.

Callie sympathized with the myriad of emotions that were so clear in Arizona's expressions. In that moment, _she_ felt like the "other" parent. The other parent who had been both clueless and helpless to protect her child.

And Callie understood her ex-wife's decision to tell Jackson about April's pregnancy – even if it hadn't been the right thing for her to do, he had indeed deserved to know.

"I'll….I'll fix this," Callie swore. "I'll find out why no one paged you, and I'll make sure it never happens again. Okay?" Tenderly, she brought her hand up to rub Arizona's arm in an attempt at comfort.

Arizona shook her head in defeat, willing herself not to cry. "I, um. I have to go be with her."

Callie nodded in understanding. "Go," she whispered. "Take care of her."

As soon as Arizona had turned around – clearly needing some space from Callie and some closeness to her daughter – Callie put her head in her hands.

"Everything okay?" Penny wondered, suddenly beside her. "Callie, Sofia's going to be fine."

"It's not Sofia I'm worried about," Callie grumbled. She prodded her girlfriend with her eyes. "Hey, do you have any idea why no one paged Arizona?" Had a nurse refused? Was there a hidden homophobe, right there at Grey-Sloan?

"Oh." Penny paused, suddenly nervous. "The sitter was really upset, so I offered to page you for her."

Callie raised her eyebrows. "_Just_ me?"

"Well…" Penny backtracked, feeling very, very small. "I just thought…I thought, maybe, you would want to see her first, and then I started providing care and forgot-"

"You _forgot_ to call her mother?" Callie pressed.

"I thought that-"

"Blake." Callie said her girlfriend's last name harshly and softly, almost. She was too angry to yell. How had her own girlfriend so blatantly disrespected Arizona's place in their daughter's life?

"I'm sorry," Penny apologized, clearly regretful. "I guess I should have paged her, too."

Callie shook her head, beside herself with anger, and forced herself to take a deep breath. "I am Sofia's mom, and Arizona is Sofia's mom," she explained, making sure her words were crystal freakin' clear. "We're a family. Do you get that? Maybe not like we were a few years ago, but with Sofia, we're a family. And if you can't respect that-"

"I can," Penny swore. "I do."

Callie sighed. She had to deal with more important things – her daughter had hit her head, and her ex-wife was terrified. "I need to go. Be with my _family_," she added pointedly. She turned to go.

Penny looked after her, visibly deflating. It seemed that Callie still valued Arizona – more than she'd known. Callie, Arizona, and Sofia were a family, and she was an intruder. Apparently.

Slowly – calming herself – Callie walked towards Sofia's bed. She placed her hand on her daughter's foot, and watched Sofia's smile grow as Arizona promised, "I'm taking the rest of the day off to be with you, and so we can have a fun Girl's Day at home, okay?"

Sofia nodded excitedly. "Can we watch a movie?"

"Of course!" Arizona exclaimed. "And we can play, we can read books, and we can even have some ice cream."

Sofia giggled, and Callie felt her heart swell. Ever since Sofia's first breath, their daughter had felt an unmistakably strong bond with Arizona. And – though Callie had always enjoyed watching the two of them interact – she enjoyed it even more in that moment. Though it reminded her of everything she and Arizona could have had together, it also reminded her how lucky she was to co-parent with the blonde. To have ever loved her at all.

That reminder didn't entirely assuage the lasting pain that plagued her heart, but it helped. Sofia was lucky to have Arizona as a mother. And Callie was lucky to be able to parent with her. That much she knew.

"No fair," Callie fake-pouted, moving closer. "You two are going to have all the fun while I'm stuck here!"

"Ha Ha!" Sofia teased, earning herself a poke in the ribs from Arizona.

"Hey, don't be mean!" she warned jovially. She smiled at Callie. "If we decide to make cookies, we'll save some for you."

"Can we?!" Sofia bounced excitedly. "I want cookies!"

"We can do whatever you want," Arizona said adoringly. She turned to Callie. "I'm going to take her home. I signed the release forms already."

Callie nodded. "Okay," she whispered. "And about you not being paged…"

Arizona waited. She felt sick, just thinking about it. What if it had been something more serious?! What if she hadn't known?!

"I took care of it. It won't happen again."

"I'm her momma," Arizona insisted, her eyes locked with Callie's. She looked down, plastering a smile on her face. "Right?"

Sofia nodded. "Right, Momma."

Arizona grinned, feeling endless love for her little girl. Then, she turned back to Callie, vowing again, "I'm her momma."

Callie offered a gentle smile. "I know you are."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them were in the hospital parking lot, saying goodbye.

"Give me a hug," Callie insisted, squatting down so that Sofia could run into her arms. She kissed her head. "I love you, and I'm _so_proud of you for being so brave today."

Sofia smiled.

"Be good for Mommy, okay?"

Sofia nodded. "I will!"

"Good," Callie smiled, satisfied, straightening up. She faced Arizona. "Let me know if you need anything, please," she pleaded.

"We'll be fine, Callie." Arizona smiled knowingly. "I _am_ a pretty good pediatric surgeon, you know."

"An amazing one," Callie corrected, wanting to make sure Arizona knew she didn't doubt her in any way, shape, or form. Then, carefully, she asked, "Can I give you a hug, too?"

Arizona's breath caught at the unexpected question. But, quickly, she recovered. "Yeah," she breathed.

She and Callie wrapped their arms around each other, closing their eyes at the warm feeling of full-body contact. Even years after their divorce, they fit together perfectly.

Regretfully, they both pulled back.

"I should get her home." Arizona hitched a thumb towards her car, reaching out and placing her hand on Sof's shoulder.

"Right," Callie agreed airily. "Thank you."

Arizona smiled, offering a small nod. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Bye, Mommy!" Sofia called, skipping towards the car. She was ready to make cookies!

Callie and Arizona shared one last smile. "Bye." Arizona turned to go.

"Bye," Callie exhaled, watching as Arizona followed after their daughter.

She heard the automatic doors open and someone walk towards her. "Callie, are you working? I have a patient and need your help."

"Yeah," Callie offered absentmindedly. She unwillingly tore her eyes away from her family to meet Meredith's eyes. "Sure. I can help."

"Great," Meredith chirped, walking back towards the double-doors and her patient inside.

Callie followed after, but she couldn't help but turn around one last time to see Arizona backing out of the parking space and heading towards the side-street.

Standing in front of those double-doors, she offered one final wave.

Arizona waved back.


	129. Chapter 129

**Set during that final night in 11x05.**

**P.S. Several of these lines were borrowed / stolen from The Fosters! I watched it during my Spring Break and totally wanted to Calzonafy some of the good stuff. Here, I did my best. :)**

**P.P.S. Calzona are getting back together soon. Don't forget it.**

**Let me know what you think!**

* * *

When, at last, her ears stopped ringing and her heartbeat slowed from the strength of the multiple orgasms she had experienced, Arizona squeezed Callie's hand – a symbol of oneness and connection.

She turned on her side, facing her wife, and Callie responded in turn. Slowly – almost reverently – she trailed her fingers down Callie's shoulder and breast, watching as caramel skin puckered with tiny goosebumps. "I missed you," she breathed. Unblinking, she met loving, black-as-night eyes.

Callie smiled. She leaned in, her lips softly brushing those of her wife, before regretfully pulling away. "I missed you, too," she swore. "I hated that you wouldn't talk to me."

Arizona frowned, her expression darkening. "Did you add that to your 'hate list'?" Their therapist had instructed that they each construct a list of what they loved and hated most about each other. The thought of all the terrible words Callie must have written down had haunted her since.

"_No_," Callie expelled a sharp breath, shaking her head in dissent. "Arizona, almost everything I wrote ended up on the love list."

Arizona gave her a look of disbelief. How could that be?

"It did," Callie promised. "Whenever I thought of something that drives me _crazy_ about you," she smiled, "I immediately wanted to come to your defense."

Arizona's eyes widened.

"Because I _know_ why you wouldn't talk to me. It's because you care so much and want us to stay together. I know you tend to jump to conclusions because you've been through so much. And I know you always make _me_ bring the bags of Sofia's outgrown clothes to Goodwill because of the one time you went into that storage closet and saw that huge spider."

Arizona laughed, and Callie grinned. Arizona's voice, giggle, chuckle, and laughter together made up her favorite genre of music.

"I don't think those lists were meant to make us focus on all the bad stuff," she maintained. And they hadn't. There was bad stuff, sure, but there was so much good. There was so much love.

Arizona leaned in, dropping a devoted kiss onto full lips. Part of her knew that she should have been studying for her surgery with Dr. Herman, but a bigger part of her believed that this – this reconnection with her wife – was more important. So, instead of going back to her jello mold, she allowed Callie to entwine their legs. She pulled her wife impossibly closer, reveling in their physical, emotional, and psychic connection.

Callie burrowed her nose in feathery blonde hair, inhaling the woman who meant more to her than anything else. If she hadn't yet written "your scent" on her love list, it was something she desperately needed to do. Arizona smelled like home.

They fell into comfortable, sated stillness, nearing sweet slumber, until Arizona broke the silence.

"This is my favorite part," she stated, her voice slurred with sleep.

"Of tonight?" Callie wondered, eyes still closed.

Callie felt the subtle movement as Arizona slowly shook her head. Her lips quirked up. "Of everything."


	130. Chapter 130

Hi, all. This fic was written in collaboration with TheZenParadox, and it takes place in 12x15. Zen is the absolute greatest, most creative writer, so any parts of this you enjoy likely belong to her. Was seriously in awe the entire time I worked with her. :)

Make sure to offer her your thoughts, too, either on Tumblr, her ff account, or AO3!

And, as always, please let me know what you think. This one took a loooong time to write.

* * *

**The End Is Where We Start**

* * *

_ What we call the beginning is often the end_

_ And to make and end is to make a beginning._  
_ The end is where we start from. And every phrase _  
_ And sentence that is right (where every word is at home, _  
_ Taking its place to support the others,_  
_ The word neither diffident nor ostentatious,_  
_ An easy commerce of the old and the new,_  
_ The common word exact without vulgarity, _  
_ The formal word precise but not pedantic,_  
_ The complete consort dancing together)_  
_ Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning, _  
_ Every poem an epitaph. And any action_  
_ Is a step to the block, to the fire, down the sea's throat _  
_ Or to an illegible stone: and that is where we start. _

-T.S. Elliot - Little Gidding

* * *

"Here you go, ladies," Callie greeted, walking towards her daughter and Penny with three small cups of ice cream in hand. She had offered to order the dessert to give her girlfriend a chance to bond with Sofia, and—from the looks of it—their time together had been well spent. Both ever-perky-Sofia and Penny wore bright smiles as they looked towards her.

"Chocolate for _you_," Callie cooed, handing Sofia a paper cup containing her favorite flavor of ice cream.

Sofia grinned appreciatively, gingerly taking the cup with both hands. "Thank you, Mommy."

"You are very welcome," Callie smiled. "And bubble gum for you." She handed Penny her cup, moving to sit beside her daughter at the four-person table. She had opted to order salted-caramel ice cream for herself, and she took a decadent bite. "So," she prompted, peeking at her girlfriend, "What'd I miss?"

Penny swallowed a bite of ice cream, turning to look at Sofia conspiratorily. The six-year-old had already gotten chocolate all over her cheeks, but she didn't seem to care. "Well," she began. "Sofia was just telling me about her class turtle."

"You told her about Nelson?" Callie asked, turning to face her daughter.

"Mm-hm!" Sofia exclaimed. "I got to feed him today."

"You _did_?"

Sofia nodded emphatically. "He likes lettuce_ a lot_."

"More than you, I'm guessing?" Callie teased. To her dismay, her daughter hadn't yet acquired a taste for most vegetables; Sofia only liked carrots, cucumber, and broccoli, even despite her and Arizona's best efforts to convince her otherwise.

"You don't like lettuce?" Penny wondered. She hadn't liked vegetables much as a kid, either. More common ground.

Sofia made a face. "It's gross."

"What about in turkey sandwiches? That can be yummy," Penny suggested.

Sofia wrinkled her nose: disgust magnified. "I only like peanut-butter and jelly. And Mommy _hates _sandwiches," she added.

Penny cocked an eyebrow towards Callie. That was something she should have known, wasn't it? "Really? You hate sandwiches?" On more than one occasion, she had brought her girlfriend a sandwich during one of her busy days of surgeries. Callie hadn't ever said anything about not liking them...

Callie nodded. "I don't love them," she admitted. "I _will _eat lettuce, though. And ice cream." She shared a knowing grin with Sofia and handed her a much-needed a napkin.

Fiercely wiping her face, Sofia turned back to face her new friend. "Do you know my Mommy? She does surgery on kids and babies."

"I do! She's an amazing surgeon." In truth, she had tremendous respect for Arizona.

Sofia smiled proudly. "She saved me when I was a baby."

Penny turned and gave Callie a questioning look. "Really?" She had certainly known about the nearly fatal car accident, but Callie hadn't told much about Sofia's part in it, and she was curious to learn more. As it turned out, going out with Callie and her daughter had been a good idea, after all.

"I was 'one pound one ounce of strong,'" Sofia recited the oft told story of her birth. "But Momma had to start my heart 'cause it wasn't beating. She says my heart beats for her 'cause she loves me so much."

"That's right," Callie jumped in, wanting to stop Sofia from over-praising her other mother in front of the new girlfriend. Not that Sofia _knew _Penny was her girlfriend.

"Wow, I didn't know that." Penny looked at Callie, wondering why she hadn't delved into the details before.

Callie cleared her throat, wanting to shift away from the subject of Arizona. "Penny here is an amazing surgeon too, you know."

Penny gave Callie an appreciative smile, then turned to the younger Torres. "I'm still learning, Sofia, but I hope to be as good as your moms someday."

Sofia grinned at her newfound friend. "My friend Zola's mommy is a surgeon, too. So was her daddy, but he died."

Callie's eyes widened at Sofia's words, "Sof, sweetie, why don't we go see if they have some more napkins for your sticky fingers." She turned to Penny and mouthed "sorry."

Callie and Sofia walked toward the counter, giving Penny a much needed reprieve. Sofia hadn't intentionally mentioned Derek, but Penny knew he was bound to come up from time to time. Callie's family was intertwined with the late-surgeon's. Callie and Derek had been friends—good friends—and Penny had to deal with that if she wanted a relationship with her girlfriend.

When the mother and daughter returned to the table, the conversation turned to much lighter subjects. Callie was grateful to see how well her girlfriend and her daughter got along; Sofia obviously admired Penny, and Penny seemed to like Sofia, too.

And Callie knew she should have felt nothing but relief and elation at the outcome, but somehow, she didn't feel appropriately excited. Somehow, she felt like something was just...missing.

She just wished she knew what.

* * *

The following day, Penny greeted Callie with obvious elan. "Hey." She offered a shy smile. "How do you think last night went?" She'd really liked Sofia, and she hoped that she had made a good impression on her girlfriend's daughter, too.

"It went well!" Callie assured her. And, in truth, it _had_ gone well. Her girlfriend was clearly good with kids, and before bed, Sofia had mentioned how much she had liked Penny.

Everything had worked out as it should have. Penny loved her, she loved Penny, and even Penny and Sofia had gotten along. So what was the problem? Why did she feel such an overwhelming sense of unease?

"So I was thinking…maybe we could all get together again?" Penny suggested. "I'd love to get to know her more."

"Oh, sure," Callie gave in, her voice raising in pitch. "That sounds…" She paused, a slow smile lining her face. It didn't reach her eyes. "That would be great."

Penny smiled back. "Great."

* * *

Callie had avoided another outing with Penny and Sofia for nearly two weeks, but she couldn't put it off any longer. She wasn't even sure why she had put it off at all; they all got along fantastically, and… Arizona didn't seem to care.

Everything had been going well for Callie: she had a nice, albeit compartmentalized, relationship with Penny, she and Sofia were a family, and—to an extent—her, Sofia, and Arizona were still a family, too. Just one that didn't live or have outings together. Callie hadn't always enjoyed the status quo, but she had come to accept it.

Penny used to be separate, though, and that had changed. As their relationship progressed, Penny wanted more of Callie, including time with her daughter. Callie knew she should have been happy about that. It was what she wanted. So, with her desires in mind, she sought out her girlfriend to invite her on a picnic that coming Saturday. They both had the day off, and it was her weekend with Sofia. Briefly, Callie thought about first asking for Arizona's approval, but then she realized there was no need. Apparently, Callie's evolving relationship with Penny and Penny's involvement with Sofia didn't bother Arizona. She had made that abundantly clear the week before.

"Hey," Callie greeted the charting resident. "Can I steal you for a minute?"

"Sure." Penny turned to Steph, who was sitting beside her, "I'll help you finish these when I get back."

"I'll be brief, I promise," Callie promised. Steph simply waved them off, uncaring, as she and Penny moved away from the desk.

"What's up?" Penny asked. Callie was acting nervous, and that, in turn, made her nervous.

"I… uh…" Callie paused. "I was wondering if you were free Saturday to… spend the day with me and Sof."

"Oh." Penny exhaled a sigh of relief, "For a second, I thought you were…" She shook her head, ridding herself of negative thoughts. "Never mind. I would love to spend the day with you and Sofia. What did you have in mind?"

"Picnic at the park," Callie smiled. "Then...maybe dinner?"

"At your place?"

"No. Out." Callie definitely wasn't ready for family-time at home. That was too much. And much too fast.

"Okay." Penny smiled. Callie had said she was on the same page and was taking steps, which was good thing. Even so, something was still off. Penny could feel it. "I have a really nice picnic basket, so I'll bring the food. No sandwiches, though, right?" Penny was grateful for the newfound knowledge. "Oh, maybe pizza?"

"_No_," Callie snapped at the suggestion. "Sandwiches are fine. They're just… they're fine."

* * *

To Penny's dismay, Callie's strange behavior continued throughout the rest of the week. She didn't seem unhappy per se, and she had offered a genuine apology for her curt response about the sandwiches but, still, something was off.

"Callie…" Penny pleaded after they hadn't talked at all the day before. "What's going on with you?"

Callie exhaled a long, exhausted breath. That was one problem: she had no idea _what _was going on with her. She just...felt something. In her chest. And it didn't feel good. "I don't know."

"Well…" Penny worried. "Do you...want to slow down?"

"_No_." Callie immediately shook her head. She liked Penny—she even loved her—so she wanted to work this out. Whatever "this" was. She knew that her girlfriend didn't deserve such sudden hostility. Penny hadn't done anything wrong.

Callie knew that.

"Okay…" Penny began, processing that new development. So her girlfriend didn't want to take a step back. That was good, but still, something was obviously wrong. "Do you want to cancel the picnic?"

Again, Callie shook her head. "It sounds fun, and I want Sofia to know you. Let's meet at the park on Saturday, okay? Hopefully I'll be out of this funk by then."

* * *

Penny opted to bring a grand platter of crackers, carrots, grapes, cheeses, and hummus for their picnic lunch instead of sandwiches. She figured that Sofia would at least go for the crackers, carrots, and grapes, and she knew for certain that Callie liked hummus and brie.

And, as it turned out, the selection had been a good choice.

Sitting on the checkered blanket beside her daughter and her girlfriend, Callie watched as Sofia stuffed a cracker into her mouth, sprinkling crumbs all over her dress.

"Sofia," Callie chuckle-chided. "Where are your manners?"

She met her mom's eyes, giggling a little ruefully. Callie nodded towards Penny, and Sofia knowingly turned towards their lunchdate. "Thank you for bringing the crackers," she offered politely.

Penny smiled. "You're very welcome, Sofia. I'm happy we're having lunch together."

"Me, too!" Sofia exclaimed, reaching for another cracker. "Hey, look!"

When Callie looked towards where Sofia was pointing, she noted what looked to be three siblings, kicking around a soccer ball while their parents cheered them on from the sidelines.

Callie smiled at the sweet scene, imagining Sofia playing the sport in the future, with her looking on.

"Oh, I love soccer," Penny gushed, turning towards Sofia. "Do you want me to ask if we can join them?"

Sofia shook her head. "My momma's going to teach me how to play. She said Uncle Tim was super good and fast, so I will be, too!"

Callie stiffened. It was rare that she thought of Tim anymore, seeing as though she spent so little time speaking with Arizona. She _did _remember, however, how excited her ex-wife had once been for Sof to be old enough to join a youth soccer team.

"_Arizona," Callie laughed. "She's not even six months old. Isn't it a little early to think about what sports to sign her up for?" They were in the kitchen, cooking dinner for just the two of them, with Sofia at Mark's._

"_Maybe." Arizona shrugged easily, grinning at Callie. "But think about how fun it could be." She set her knife down on the cutting board, opting instead to cross the kitchen and wrap her arms about Callie's middle from behind. "You and I would practice with her and cheer her on at all her games." She lowered her voice, husking in her wife's ear, "I could even become the coach and buy a hot little uniform."_

_Callie shuddered at _that_. "Oh, yeah?"_

_Arizona shrugged coyly. "Maybe." She giggled, kissing a caramel cheek before moving back to chop up some vegetables to sau__té__._

Suddenly, that memory was all Callie could think about: her and Arizona, cheering Sofia on from the sidelines. Together.

The rest of lunch suddenly didn't seem as appetizing, and what she had already eaten was in danger of coming back up. Her stomach clenched as her mind struggled to push down the thought of Arizona by her side.

There had been a time when she had thought of nothing else but Arizona at her side. She had feared anything less, and that fear had led to many mistakes on her part: mistakes made in a misguided attempt to keep that vision alive. It was ironic that her need to protect that future at all costs had ultimately been part of their undoing. She had held on too tight and lost her dream in the process. And trying to build that dream with someone else just wasn't the same.

"Callie, are you okay?" Penny reached out and rubbed Callie's arm, ripping her from her thoughts. "You look a little pale." She could have done more, but she didn't want to show too much physical affection; she wasn't sure what Callie had told Sofia about the nature of their relationship. Still, she felt the need to touch Callie in the moment; the woman looked haunted.

"I'm fine." Callie turned to Sofia. "Hey, kiddo, why don't you go play on the slide?"

"Yay!"

"Be careful, though," Callie warned. "You know you just got those stitches out last week."

"Okay, Mommy!"

Callie sighed as she watched Sofia run the few yards to the playset. She kept her eyes trained on the little girl, not because she was afraid of her getting hurt, but because she was afraid to look at Penny; she was sure her thoughts were written all over her face.

"Tell me what you're thinking," Penny entreated. "I know something is going on. You look like I kicked your puppy. Did I say something wrong?"

Callie finally looked away from her daughter, who had already made a friend to go up and down the slide with, and she allowed her gaze to fall on Penny.

Penny looked just a freaked out as Callie felt.

"I'm fine, Penny. I…just...I haven't thought of Tim in a long time." It was mostly the truth. She hadn't thought of Tim in a long time, but that wasn't the reason she felt nauseous.

"Oh." Penny nodded, attempting to understand. "You didn't keep in touch with her family after the divorce?"

"I never met Tim. He was killed in…" Callie paused. That wasn't her story to share. "He died before Arizona and I were together. She loved him so much, though. He was a big part of who she was. I'm glad she shares that with Sofia."

A cheer from the soccer field drew Callie's attention back in that direction. She watched as the youngest managed to get past her older playmate by kicking the ball between his legs.

"I played in the youth leagues, when I was little. I started right about at Sofia's age." Penny's gaze had followed Callie's toward the soccer players. "Do you think you'll sign Sofia up soon? I'd love to see a game..." Penny continued talking about her time playing soccer and why she eventually stopped. "I wasn't really that good. But I do love the sport..."

Callie thought about what Bailey had said to her: about who she wanted by her side cheering Sofia on. She tried to imagine Penny by her side—the woman had been nothing but wonderful in their time together—but she couldn't. When she imagined that future, she only saw one person. And it wasn't Penny.

Callie turned back to her girlfriend, who was still talking, and she realized she could see a present with her, but not a future. She loved spending time with her. She was funny, and charming, and everything she'd been looking for.

And everything had been great until Penny had wanted to meet Sofia. Everything had been great until Callie'd had to consider the future, because the only future she'd ever imagined had involved Arizona…and she wasn't ready to give that up. Even if it was only something she imagined in her head, she couldn't replace that happily ever after. Penny just didn't fit. Penny wasn't her forever-person.

She knew what she had to do.

"Penny." Callie took a deep breath. "I, uh… I think we…"

"What?"

"I need to go." Callie started packing up their things. She couldn't break up with her girlfriend with Sofia there. She had to go. She had to think. She couldn't do this then; it was all too much. "I'm…not feeling well, and I need to go home. I'll, uh… I'll call you soon. I promise."

Callie stood and called for Sofia to come back to the blanket. "Sweetie, we're going home."

"Why?" Sofia looked from her mother to Penny, who looked just as confused.

"Mommy doesn't feel well," Callie explained. "Get your stuff."

"But we didn't get to play yet," Sofia whined. "I wanted Penny to push me on the swings."

"Another time, Sofia," Penny promised. "You go with your mom."

"Okay," Sofia agreed grudgingly. "Bye, Dr. Penny."

"Goodbye, Sofia."

Callie took Sofia's hand and started to lead her towards the car.

"Callie," Penny called out. "We're okay, right?"

Callie swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded lightly. "We'll talk later. I'll call you." She turned and walked away, forcing herself to not look back.

She quickly buckled Sofia into her booster seat and got behind the wheel before allowing her emotions to take over. Her fingers shook as she attempted to start the car. She closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to calm down. She needed to get them home safely, and _then _she could cry. Once she got her baby home, she would figure out what was wrong and deal with it then.

She took a few long deep breaths, stemming the oncoming panic.

This time, when she put the key in the ignition, her hand was steady. She had pushed her feelings all back down into a manageable place to get her through the evening.

* * *

"Hello?" Seeing Callie's name on her screen, Arizona answered the phone, surprised by the late-night call.

On the other line, she could only hear shallow breathing.

"Callie?" Arizona wondered. "Are you there?"

"It's me," came a tiny voice. _Sofia_.

"Sofia?" Arizona worried, suddenly in protector mode. "Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," Sofia whispered. Her mom had put her to bed an hour before, and she was supposed to be sleeping. Instead, however, she was wide awake; even the hallway and shut doors between them hadn't muffled her mom's sobs, and she couldn't sleep knowing Callie was so upset.

"Sofia…" Arizona pressed, feeling her heart speed up. "What's going on?!"

"Mommy's crying!" Sofia exclaimed, her fear getting the better of her. "I don't know why!"

"She's _crying_?" Arizona was already grabbing her car keys and heading for the door. "Did anyone hurt her? Are _you _okay?"

"Mm-hm," Sofia nodded, her lower lip jutting out. She was fine. It was her mom she was worried about.

"Sof, I'll be right there! Okay?" Arizona held her phone between her shoulder and ear as she maneuvered into the car.

Her car speakers echoed Sofia's fearful "Okay" on the other side of the line, and she set down her phone to talk on the Bluetooth. She knew it would only take ten minutes to drive to Callie's house, but she didn't want to hang up the phone on her daughter; the little girl sounded absolutely terrified. And with reason. There was nothing worse than hearing a parent cry.

In an attempt at distraction, Arizona prompted, "So, what did you and Mommy do today?"

"We went to the park! We had a picnic with Penny, and she brought crackers and cheese and carrots for me."

Distraction successful.

"Oh, wow!" Arizona exclaimed, attempting to feign excitement. Her grip tightened on the steering wheel. She was jealous by nature, she knew, but still. It was normal to detest her daughter getting to know her ex-wife's girlfriend. Wasn't it?

"Do you like Penny?"

"She's super nice." Sofia smiled. "I told her I'm gonna be a good soccer player."

"Why is that?" Arizona inquired.

"Because it's in my jeems, silly!" Sofia giggled. "'Cause Uncle Tim was so good."

Arizona laughed—beyond grateful for the respite from worry, however short. "It's in your genes, huh? We better sign you up soon, then."

"Yay!" Sofia cheered. Talking to her momma, she could barely even remember the turmoil that had led to her call. "Will you and Mommy help me get good?"

"Of course we will, honey," Arizona promised. "Hey, I'm going to hang up now, okay? I'm almost here."

"Okay."

"I love you. I'll see you in two minutes."

* * *

Desperate—both to see Sofia and to help her ex-wife—Arizona raced up the walkway to Callie's house and pounded on the front door. She in no way wanted to insert herself in between Callie and her problems, but what other choice did she have? Sof had called her—upset, terrified, and begging for her help. Arizona had a duty to help respond: not for Callie, but for their daughter.

And, well, _also _for Callie. Even if a requirement of conjugal compassion and togetherness no longer applied, she couldn't help if that sense of compassion extended infinitely even after their divorce. She cared for Callie; she had and did and would forevermore. Ending their marriage hadn't lessened the tenderness Arizona felt for her.

To her surprise, it was Sofia who threw open the door.

"Hey, Sof," Arizona exhaled, relieved to see her little girl. She pulled her in for a hug. "Are you okay?"

Sofia nodded against her momma's hair. "Mommy's still crying, and I'm scared."

"I know, sweetie," Arizona soothed, wrapping her arms more tightly around Sof's tiny body. She was desperate to find Callie and help, somehow, but her daughter was always her first priority, and Arizona needed to help her first.

"Before I go make Mommy feel better, how about I set up 'Finding Nemo' for you?" she suggested.

Sofia nodded excitedly, instantly backing out of Arizona's arms and racing towards the ouch in the living room.

Usually, that would have made Arizona smile, but instead, she only felt sick. Physically, her chest _ached_, and not only for Sofia—who'd had to hear her mother cry. But also for Callie. And for herself.

Arizona knew that she had no duty to care about her ex-wife any longer, but she had the right, didn't she? Because no matter how much time passed, how many other women they dated, and how brutally they had torn out each others' hearts, Arizona always cared. She had _never _been able to resist rushing to Callie's side when she was upset, and—no matter how much she sometimes wished it had—that need had never dissipated.

So her chest ached for Callie—for her pain and suffering— and it also ached for herself: for how much she cared, for her unspoken, unwavering attachment, and for her obvious inability to ever move on entirely from a love that was more real and true than anything she had ever known.

Finally, she set up the movie, wrapped a blanket around Sofia's shoulders, and kissed the top of her head. "Keep an eye on Nemo for me, will you?" she teased.

Sofia grinned up at her, disaster forgotten. "I will," she giggled.

"Okay," Arizona smiled back, exhaling a sigh of relief. One family member safe, one to go.

With one final affectionate brush through silky dark-brown hair, Arizona began the nerve-wracking journey towards Callie's bedroom.

Gently, she knocked on the wooden door and waited for a response. She felt sick. What the hell had happened? Had Penny broken Callie's heart? Had someone died? A patient? A parent?

She cracked open the door, comforted by the fact that all her questions were soon to be answered.

Because there Callie was. Lying in her oversized bed, hiding beneath the blankets. She was turned away from Arizona and whimpering with sobs, so she hadn't heard the gentle crack of the opening door. Tissues were strewn all over the place, and she just looked...small.

To Arizona, Callie usually had a grand presence. She was tall, and confident, and beautiful, and the air shifted in every room she walked into. Arizona always noticed her immediately, and she knew she would have been foolish if she thought that other people didn't, too. Callie was just big, in who she was. She demanded to be known: with her eyes, her smile, her heart, and that _laugh_. Her specialness was uncontainably large.

But, in that moment, Callie looked small. Smaller than she had looked when her father had disowned her. Smaller than she had looked when her mother had abandoned her before their wedding. Smaller than she had looked even when Mark had died.

Something truly devastating must have transpired for Callie to look so miserably small.

"Calliope…" Arizona exhaled, overcome with sudden care.

Callie jumped, turning her head so fast that she almost got whiplash. As soon as she saw her ex-wife—the woman she was weeping over—she fiercely wiped her eyes. Or attempted to, anyway; Arizona being there, all soft and angelic, only made her tears fall faster.

Callie had come to realization that she wanted a future with her ex-wife, and now there Arizona was. In her house. In her bedroom. Exhaling her name.

"Arizona…" Callie choked out. "What...What are you doing here?"

"Sofia called," Arizona explained, her voice still quiet, and her eyes still fixed to Callie, taking her in. "She said you wouldn't stop crying."

Callie—overwhelmed by the tension in the atmosphere—attempted to chuckle, but it immediately morphed into a sob. "Damn it." She reached for a tissue. Hell, she reached for ten tissues. "I thought she was asleep."

"It's okay," Arizona assured her, walking towards the bed. "I mean...you scared her. But she's okay."

"_Great_." Callie attempted to hide her red and swollen face from view, her voice as tight as a drum.

"Are _you _okay?" Arizona pressed, edging closer.

Callie sat up in bed, attempting to level out the playing field as best she could. There Arizona was, disrupting her personal space—and blissfully.

Suddenly, Callie was at a loss: how the hell had she ever believed she had loved Penny?

She hadn't. She couldn't. Not when there was Arizona.

Penny was an option; not a choice. Or, well, she was a second choice. Callie felt cruel admitting that, but it was the truth.

Penny was great, but she was no Arizona.

But, as far as Callie knew, Arizona was done. Moved on.

So, _no_, she wasn't okay. And she offered no response.

When Callie didn't answer the question, Arizona added, "Look, I know it's not my place. And I can go and take Sofia home with me, if you want, but…" She shrugged, a little self-conscious (how was it that only Callie ever managed to make her feel that way?). "I just...you don't have to be alone. Just tell me what happened, and I'll help."

And at those sweet words of unity, Callie finally met concerned blue eyes. "We spent the day together," she whispered at a numbed monotone. "Me, Sof, and Penny."

"Okay…" Arizona nodded, moving to sit down at the very edge of the bed—careful not to completely infringe on her ex-wife's space. From what she had heard from Sof, it had been a good outing. How had it left Callie so despondent? "And…?"

"And it was just so...ordinary," Callie explained, her eyes fiercely locking with cerulean blues.

Arizona felt her heart take off in her chest, pounding more rapidly than hummingbird wings.

A shift was coming. Something that would change her life. Forever. She could feel it. And that feeling rendered her entirely speechless, useless to stop Callie from saying more. Useless to stop her from initiating the shift.

Not that Arizona really wanted to stop her, anyway.

"Bailey said something to me. A couple weeks ago," Callie continued. "And it's been with me. Chasing me, like a shadow. A feeling…I haven't been able to shake."

"What did she say?" Arizona could hardly breathe, waiting in anticipation.

"She asked me who I see by my side, when I imagine the distant future. And...no matter how hard I've tried not to, I can only ever picture you."

Arizona felt her breath catch in her throat. If her heart was beating fast before then, in that moment, it surely stopped altogether.

"Arizona…" Callie began, the dulcet devotion in her voice echoing throughout the room. She shook her head helplessly, only able to stare at her ex-wife in absolute wonderment. "I just...I see _you_," she emphasized. "It's only you. It's always you."

Forcing herself to break the silence as Callie's warm, expectant brown eyes implored her own, Arizona croaked out, "And you don't want it to be. That's why you're..."

That _was _why Callie was upset, wasn't it? Because she was in Callie's thoughts, when Callie wanted her thoughts to be on Penny. Perfect Penny, who Callie loved and who had befriended Sofia.

"No," Callie clarified immediately. That wasn't it at all. She threw back the blankets, realizing suddenly that she was overheating. She stood up, watching as Arizona's eyes tracked her, her body then following.

"No?" Arizona pressed when Callie didn't offer more, pacing a few steps behind her.

Callie turned on her heel, abruptly facing Arizona, who was suddenly mere inches away.

"_No_," Callie confirmed once more. "Because, ever since I first met you, I've wanted it to be you. Ever since I first fell in love with you, I've wanted to marry you, and to have kids with you, and for us to die in a flash of light in each other's arms, or something," she babbled truthfully. "I didn't want any life where you weren't at my side. And, apparently, I still don't."

A slow—albeit uncertain—smile teased pink lips. She was scared as hell to allow herself to imagine Callie as _hers _again. But there she was, imagining it, anyway. At that profession, how could she not? She licked her lips, still refusing to let down her guard entirely. What was Callie saying, really?

"But...realizing _that _made you cry so hard that you woke up our daughter?" she pushed dubiously. That action seemed to contradict anything positive her ex-wife said. Because, from where Arizona stood, it seemed as though the thought had only caused Callie pain.

Callie pursed her lips, her eyes exploring Arizona's expressive face. How could she explain the truth?

"I cried because this _terrifies _me," she admitted. "I realized today that nothing and no one is going to make me not want you. Regardless of our past and how scared I am, all I can picture is an _extraordinary _future with you. And I know it's too late, now. You don't want that anymore. I get that. It's why I thought I could move on, and-"

Her explanation, however, was cut short when, all at once, she felt two hands that were both stronger and softer than she had expected cradling her face and pulling her in for a kiss.

The soft glow from the lamp in the hallway was the only light in Callie's room. Its beam shone on them like a spotlight, highlighting a grand performance.

Both of their hearts beat in rhythm for the first time in years as their lips met in an inevitable outpouring of passion. Supple lips, warm mouths, and the sound of soft whimpers consumed them both, urging them impossibly closer.

Callie desperately grabbed at Arizona's hair, holding on for dear life. She pushed against the smaller body, insisting on maximum contact. _This is right_, she thought. _This_ _is what love and passion feels like_. A kiss like _that _was what she had been missing.

Arizona was wrapped up in the taste and smell and feel of Callie, her senses overwhelmed by her. She was lost, and found, and everything at once. She was _home_. And for a moment, she selfishly allowed herself enjoy the feeling.

Callie's nostrils flared as she attempted to breathe while desperately maintaining physical contact. But Arizona pulled back, forcing Callie to chase after her retreating lips.

"_Please_," Callie breathed.

Callie's frenzied plea pulled Arizona out of her impassioned daze. She couldn't take their kiss any further. Callie was dating Penny. Arizona wouldn't allow herself to be the person who made Callie into a cheater, and _she _was never going to be a cheater again.

They needed to stop.

"Callie," she whispered, feeling tears sting her eyes. "I need to go."

"Please don't," Callie entreated, not caring about the consequences of her actions. She felt alive again, aware in a way she hadn't been in years—since before the plane crash. She was finally cognizant of what she wanted and, more specifically, of _who_ she wanted.

Her heart felt ready to rupture from the ecstasy of that realization.

"I have to," Arizona maintained. "This isn't right. You have a girlfriend. We're divorced. Done. We've been done for years. You've moved on, and I…" She forced out the words. "I've moved on. This isn't right."

"It feels right." Callie reached for Arizona, again. "Tell me it doesn't feel right."

"I… I can't…" Arizona closed her eyes to keep her rising tears at bay. Callie smiled, thinking she had convinced Arizona to stay, but she was wrong. "I can't stay, Callie. I'm going to go check on Sof. Then, I'm going home."

Callie's face fell for a moment as she watched Arizona rapidly retreat from her bedroom, but her dismay didn't last long.

Arizona had kissed her. She had stumbled over her insistence that she had moved on. She still loved her; that much was clear to Callie. And where there was love, there was hope.

Callie flopped back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Try as she might, she couldn't keep the smile off of her face.

There was hope.

* * *

Arizona, on the other hand, was not smiling. Her ex-wife—and, well, the love of her life—had just confessed that she still loved her, and wanted her, and imagined a future with only her. And then there had been_ that kiss_.

The evening had shifted the life she had come to recognize as her own. She had finally accepted her current state of being: divorced, middle-aged, lesbian mom, who was an excellent double-board-certified lesbian surgeon. She had loved fiercely and lost greatly. She had resigned to the fact that she might not ever feel such an incomprehensibly deep bond with any other human.

Callie had been the exception. She had been_ the one_, and Arizona had forced herself to bury that truth.

Until that night, when they had shared that earth-splintering kiss, and Callie had told her everything she had ever dreamed of hearing.

She paced back and forth in her kitchen, ignoring the sharp pain that pinched her inner thigh from her prosthesis. It was nothing next to the pungent throbbing that overwhelmed her heart.

Even after so much time, Arizona still loved Callie and imagined a future with only her. And she was petrified.

Love alone hadn't been enough to keep them together before, and Arizona knew she would be foolish to believe that had changed.

Exhausted, she crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling. She had kissed Callie, and it had felt so _right_. Feeling those lips had animated all the incandescent passion and love that existed within her.

All the fear, too.

* * *

The following morning, Callie ended her relationship with Penny. Even a few days before, she might have felt callous for putting an end to something that had been so good, but no more.

Because, in truth, her relationship with Penny hadn't been as good as she had initially thought. It had just been _easy_. It had been soft and passive—their problems small and immediately solved.

Her relationship with Arizona, on the other hand, had always been hard. It was active; it had to be. It was difficult and exhausting and infuriating and exactly what love was supposed to be. With Arizona, Callie felt both stronger and more helplessly human.

And she loved that.

So she had ended her relationship with Penny in the hopes that Arizona would realize that her kiss meant something and that she wanted a future together, too.

Callie was willing to wait and to allow her ex-wife time to process the events of the night before, and then, they would address their truths. She was almost certain that Arizona felt just as she did, so she only needed to give the blonde a few days to get over the fear. Then, hopefully, there would be no more fear: only joy.

* * *

It wasn't until a few days later that Callie finally approached Arizona. She had given her ample time to process through their last interaction, and she was certain that the blonde had decided what she wanted by then.

Callie felt nervous butterflies flitting around her belly as she came across her ex-wife having an intense-looking conversation with Bailey. And, despite her better judgment, she couldn't stop herself from interrupting. She had waited long enough. She had spent _years _being apart from Arizona, and she didn't want to waste even another second.

"Bailey," she greeted casually as she came to a stop in front of the two women. She hoped her tone didn't betray her internal terror. Even being so close to Arizona, she felt her heart speed up, taking flight in her chest.

The Chief of Surgery nodded in return. "Torres."

Gulping in fear, Callie turned and acknowledged the blonde, meeting her eyes at last. "Arizona."

"Callie," Arizona responded in turn. She could have cut the tension with a scalpel, if she'd had one.

"Did you, um..." Callie's eyes flicked to Bailey for a brief moment, then back to Arizona. "Have I given you enough time to process?"

Bailey narrowed her eyes at the two exes—and her dear friends. Something was up.

Arizona blushed under Bailey's watchful gaze, but she answered Callie, anyway. "Yes. I did."

"And...?"

"And…" Arizona's lips curved into a slow smile. "It feels right."

Callie nearly choked on her own saliva. "Really?" Her voice trembled with suppressed giddiness.

At Arizona's affirmative nod, Callie's eye shined with unshed tears—happy tears. Her joyous smile warmed the room and spread like a wildfire to Arizona, and then to Bailey—who didn't even know what she was smiling about.

"What? What feels right?" Bailey finally asked, her curiosity taking over. When neither woman answered, she huffed, "You two going to tell me what the hell we're so happy about?"

"The future, Bailey," Arizona finally explained, her eyes never straying from Callie's. "We're happy about the future." She grinned at Callie, feeling her heart settle in her chest for the first time since their divorce. Maybe even longer.

"And about cheering for Sofia at soccer games," Callie beamed, adding, "_Together_."

* * *

Callie and Arizona were together; they were _really_ together, physically and spiritually connected in a way they had never been before. During their time apart, their love had only expanded, and they felt a deep sense of unity and loyalty that was almost tangible.

They demonstrated this remarkable care in even the simplest of touches and smiles that were so clearly reverent that their coworkers looked on with awe: their old friends glad to see them happy and reconciled, and their new friends amazed by just how happy they could be together.

And Callie felt this care for the tenth time that day when Arizona reached for her hand, instinctively entwining their palms. They had decided to spend the uncharacteristically warm evening at _their _bench with Sofia: a family picnic. Callie had packed a basket of drinks and fruit, and Sofia diligently carried the medium pizza they had picked up on their way to the park.

"Do you remember this spot, Sof?" Arizona asked once they had reached their destination. "It's been a long time since we've come here."

"Too long," Callie chimed in, offering the blonde a loving smile. Arizona easily matched it.

Sofia shook her head. She didn't remember. Then, she looked out towards the city skyline, her jaw comically dropping at the view. "It's so pretty! We should come here more!"

Callie and Arizona laughed at her awed expression, and Callie leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "We will from now on, sweetie. Promise."

Arizona sat down, setting the pizza box on the edge of the bench. "Hey, kiddo," she began. "You going to come sit down, or should Mommy and I eat this whole pizza without you?"

Immediately, Sofia skipped over and sat down, directly beside her momma. "Can I have a slice?"

Arizona deliberately raised her eyebrows at the little girl. They were still working on her manners.

"_May_ I have a slice, _please_?" Sofia corrected herself, dimpling adorably.

"You may," Arizona smiled proudly, immediately handing Sof a slice of warm cheesy pizza on a blue paper plate.

Callie sat down on Sofia's other side, exhaling a contented breath. She was at one of her favorite places in the world, overlooking her favorite view with her two favorite people. What more could she have asked for?

She settled her arm on the back on the bench, reaching around Sofia to affectionately rub Arizona's back, reveling in the warmth beneath her palm.

Arizona flashed Callie a grin, leaning back into the touch. "You want some?"

Callie nodded. "I'll always want your pizza," she joked.

Arizona chuckled, handing her love a slice. "I guess we have a lot of pizza nights to make up for." She turned to face Sofia. "Sof, what do you say to coming here again next weekend?"

Sofia just nodded in excitement, her mouth too full to answer. She was never one to turn down pizza, or quality time with her moms.

"We probably should have gotten more napkins," Callie lamented, cringing at the greaseshine that framed her daughter's mouth.

Arizona laughed, waving off the idea. "Just let it happen. We'll make her take a shower tonight, anyway."

"What if _I _get all greasy?" Callie teased. "Will you make _me _take a shower?" She salaciously raised an eyebrow, grateful that Sofia was too focused on her pizza to notice.

"I'll see to it myself that you get scrubbed clean," Arizona promised, offering a flirty wink. "I might even join you."

Callie hummed, self-satisfied, and the three of them fell into easy conversation about Sofia's upcoming school play; she had secured the part of Dolores Huerta—a coveted role.

"I'm kinda scared," she admitted truthfully, doe eyes peeking up towards her two mothers. "What if I get nervous and forget all my lines?"

Callie let Arizona take the lead on that one. "If you get nervous, just find us in the audience and pretend we're the only ones there. Just like when we practice."

Callie nodded in agreement, adding, "We'll be in the very first row, holding Daddy's big ol' video camera." Capturing every second.

Arizona reached up, squeezing Callie's hand at the mention of Mark. She wrapped her other arm around Sofia's shoulders, pulling the six-year-old into her side. "You're going to do a great job, sweetie."

"You will," Callie reinforced, running her fingers through long brown hair.

Sofia smiled, shutting her eyes. She hardly remembered a time when her mothers had been together, but she was glad that they had reconciled at last. Now, she simultaneously could spend time with the two women she loved and admired most. There was nothing better, and she had never before experienced so much love all at once.

A few minutes later, they all heard kids approaching. Apparently, other families had opted to take advantage of the warm night, too.

Callie turned her head, noticing a group of five kids carrying a soccer ball. "Hey, Sof, look."

Sofia turned around, noting that one of the kids was in her class. "That's Wyatt!" she exclaimed, exuberantly waving to the tall, blonde-haired boy.

"Why don't you go ask him if you can play?" Arizona prompted. Over the course of the past few weeks, she had seen how eager Sofia was to try out the sport.

"Come on," Callie further encouraged when Sof didn't move as she continued to eye the kids from where she was seated between them. "We'll watch you from here."

Sofia soon forgot about her initial shyness, hopping off the bench to offer Wyatt a quick hug and a quick introduction to his friends. "Hi, I'm Sofia! Can I play?"

They divided into two teams, and Callie and Arizona stood up, moving to lean against the back of the bench so that they could watch their daughter kick around the ball with her playmates.

Despite the warm sun, Arizona shivered, and Callie's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Are you cold?"

Arizona made a face. "No," she lied.

Callie rolled her eyes, opening her arms wide. "You know I never mind keeping you warm."

Arizona dimpled, gratefully burrowing herself into Callie's warm embrace as they watched Wyatt kick the ball between Sofia's legs, giggling devilishly.

"Hey!" Sofia protested, laughing as she chased after him.

A few minutes later, Arizona abruptly pulled back, wondering, "Callie?"

"Hmm?" Callie knit her brows together as she turned to face the suddenly flustered blonde.

"Do you…" Arizona gulped. "Do you want to get married?"

Callie's eyebrows flew up. "Are you asking?" she teased, jovially bumping her shoulder against Arizona's.

"No…" Arizona backpedalled. "Not _now_, anyway."

Callie paused momentarily, then answered the previous question truthfully. "I don't think I do." She cautiously watched Arizona, hoping to get a read on what she was thinking.

"Why not?" Arizona remained stoic, her tone inscrutable.

"Because I don't need to." Callie wanted to be honest. She _didn't _need marriage. Not anymore. She had been married twice—and neither time had ended well. She didn't need it again and, also, she feared what it might do to her and Arizona. She didn't want to put pressure on the woman she loved, and she didn't want to create expectations that neither of them could meet.

Meeting watchful blue eyes, Callie continued, "I don't want marriage to ruin us. I _know _we'll be together forever, with or without it. I love you, and we're going to grow old together. We're going to dance together at Sofia's wedding. And I don't need a piece of paper or anyone else's approval to know that."

"Okay," Arizona accepted, reaching out and grabbing Callie's hand. "But...what if_ I _want to get married? I want the chance to make vows to you—vows I will never break again. What if..."

She paused, imploring wide brown eyes."What if I _did _ask you? Because I really want to. Callie, I want to be your wife. I want the world to know we belong to each other."

She wanted Callie to be _hers_—mind, body, and soul—and vise versa. "I know we don't _need _a piece of paper to prove our love, but I want Sofia to know her moms are committed this time. And I want _you _to know how committed I am. To you," she added shyly.

A slow, unrivaled smile bloomed on full lips. Arizona was infinitely committed. She would have been a fool not to see that.

"So…" Arizona smiled, anxiously awaiting Callie's response. "If I wanted to marry you…"

"Then, yeah," Callie finished giddily, tenderly brushing back a lock of blonde hair. "If you want to get married, I'll put on a big white dress, and we can dance down the aisle."

Arizona leaned in, leaving a long, dizzying kiss on plump red lips. Releasing a little moan, Callie pulled Arizona to her. Soon, however, they were grinning and laughing more than they were actually kissing.

That is, until they heard the sound of kids squealing in the distance. "Pass me the ball!" Sofia threw up her hands, hoping to grab her teammate's attention.

The boy kicked the ball towards her, and—to Callie and Arizona's surprise—Sofia was able to stop it with her foot.

"Make the shot!" Wyatt instructed, egging on his friend.

Sticking out her tongue in concentration, Sofia maneuvered towards the makeshift net. She threw back her foot, then kicked the ball with all her might. It flew straight into the goal.

"GOOOOAL!" Callie, Arizona, and Sofia's teammates exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement.

Sofia bulged her eyes, surprised by her own accomplishment. She whipped around to face her moms. "I did it?"

Callie and Arizona began walking towards her, their arms spread wide.

"You did it!"

"Come here, you superstar!"

Sofia raced towards them, running right into their waiting arms.

As Arizona tightly squeezed their daughter, looking prouder than ever before, Callie observed the sweet scene in utter wonderment and caught her eye.

"This is it," she decided, beaming.

Arizona offered a playful—albeit inquisitive—smile. "This is _what_?"

"This is it," Callie repeated solemnly. "_This_ is what a happy ending feels like."

* * *

**The end.**


	131. Chapter 131

**As prompted by your words, phrases, and quotes: Callie and Arizona take on the law, romcom style. **

**Written by me and thezenparadox, who is brilliant and amazing and incredible and #writergoals and everything I ever hope to be!**

* * *

**Legally Yours**

* * *

Callie hated sitting in lawyer's offices. She hated waiting—period—but especially in cold formal settings such as this. She had grown up around lawyers and constantly had been in her mother's office at the firm. So much so that, at one point, her mother had hoped that she'd go into law. But science had won out; the thrill of the cut had wooed Callie over the thrill of the fight.

Her choice of career wasn't the only hope of her mother's that Callie had dashed. She'd outright obliterated her mother's vision of her future when she had fallen in love with a _woman_. Her mother hadn't seen that one coming. But it hadn't been just any woman: it had been _Arizona_ _Robbins. _The name still managed to make her heart flutter, even despite their divorce.

Their relationship had been great, once upon a time—until that plane had come crashing down, ruining the happy life they'd built together. The trauma's toll had been too steep, and they hadn't been able to recover. Callie had pushed too hard; she realized that now, but pushing was all she had known to do. And she had pushed so hard, for so long, that Arizona had fallen out of love with her.

That explanation was the only way she could accept their separation. Because she knew their love had been real and true…at one point. Therefore, she could only conclude that Arizona had been unable to move past her trauma and had therefore fallen out of love. She had to believe that Arizona hadn't loved her in the end—had stopped loving her—because you didn't destroy the person you loved, and Arizona had shattered Callie when she'd cheated.

Callie glanced across the wide conference table at the woman who used to be her wife.

Arizona looked happy. She looked like she finally found some peace with herself—which was why Callie had been surprised by Arizona's impassioned plea that had landed them in a family-law office. They'd never had custody or visitation problems before, but an unfortunate confluence of events had led Arizona to seek legal representation to gain a stronger legal standing in regards to Sofia.

"What do you think is taking them so long?" Arizona finally asked, breaking the silence and pulling Callie out of her reflection.

"They're lawyers, Arizona," Callie chuckled. "They charge by the hour."

"Does the meter start from the time of our appointment or from the time they actually walk into the room?"

"Appointment time."

"Well, that sucks," Arizona twisted her face in distaste. "They should charge by the procedure like us. Not by how long it takes."

"They don't perform procedures. They write briefs and file… stuff. Motions or something." Callie was distracted by something.

Arizona couldn't help but notice Callie's preoccupation. Her brow furrowed as she looked at her ex-wife, who had all but forgotten what she was saying. Her attention was solely on the cellphone in her hand.

Arizona could only assume who Callie was texting.

"Do you miss her?" Arizona ventured.

Callie shrugged, not looking up from her phone. She felt wrong discussing the other woman with Arizona. And luckily for her, their attorney chose that moment to enter the conference room.

"Dr. Robbins. Dr. Torres." The young attorney, who looked fresh out of law school, shook the hands of both women. He sat down at the head of the small conference room table, directly between the two women. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

Callie smirked and glanced across the table at Arizona who shared her knowing expression. "Not at all," the blonde lied. "We're just happy you could work us in on such short notice."

"It's no problem at all. All the paperwork seems to be in order. Second-parent adoptions are pretty common, and I don't see any reason why this shouldn't sail through the process."

"Oh, thank god," Arizona sighed in relief.

"You weren't actually worried about this were you?" Callie asked.

"_Yes_, Callie, I was worried," Arizona insisted. "April and Jackson have put each other through the ringer, and it's been horrible. And, unlike me, Jackson's that baby's biological parent. So yeah, I was worried."

"I'm not fighting you." Callie put up her hands in surrender. They'd been over this when Arizona first asked to legally adopt. "Sofia is your child, Arizona, and… I would never…"

"I know you would never _intentionally _treat me as anything less than her mother. I get that. But…we're live in separate homes. You almost…" She paused. "I thought you were going to move across the country for a hot minute, and it scared me."

"Wait," the young lawyer interrupted. He pointed between the two of them. "You aren't together? According to my paperwork, this is a same-sex second-parent adoption."

Callie assured him, "It is, b-"

"But we divorced two years ago," Arizona finished the sentence. She hated hearing Callie say those words. She herself managed to say them without cringing, but hearing them come from Callie's mouth still made her stomach ache.

"Well, that changes things." The lawyer cleared his throat, hesitant to bear the bad news. He looked up, seeing the sheer panic written on Arizona's face and quickly added, "But not drastically. It's just going to take longer. A lot longer. With more in-home visits. And…you're not…" He seemed reluctant to ask. "You don't have another partner or…"

Callie was curious too. Arizona never shared anything about who she was dating. Was she in a relationship? Was she dating anyone?

"No one significant."

Callie exhaled a relieved breath.

"What about your living situation? Do you have a house?" The lawyer was typing into his tablet, making sure he had all of the correct information to move the adoption along.

"I do. I'm just leasing, though. I don't own it."

"That's fine." He continued typing. "I'm going to need the address. The court will send out someone from Social Services. They'll want to make several visits over the course of the next year."

"_Year_?" Arizona groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I don't want to wait a year before getting papers that prove my daughter is my daughter."

"I'm sorry," the lawyer apologized. "These things take time. But if it's any consolation, I don't see anything glaring that might hinder the process further. You just need to prove that you're capable of protecting and managing the care of this child on your own."

"See, Arizona?" Callie tried her best to reassure her disappointed ex. "You are a double-board certified surgeon. You save babies. You have a nice home in a safe neighborhood. Plus, you know...DeLuca's there if you…"

Their lawyer looked up from his tablet, "What's a DeLuca?"

"He's my roommate," Arizona explained.

"Oh." The lawyer's brow furrowed.

"It that a bad 'oh' or a good 'oh'?" Arizona worried her lip with her teeth. She had trouble reading people, sometimes.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing," he assured her. "It's just another variable that has to be considered. It adds more time."

"_More_ time?" Callie exclaimed. "Longer than a year?"

"Unfortunately." He shrugged. "I'm sorry, but when the well-being of a child is in question, the state is very careful about these decisions."

"Sofia's well-being is just fine with Arizona," Callie snarled, her disappointment manifesting into anger on her ex-wife's behalf. "She's Sofia's mother."

"Not legally," the lawyer argued. "Not yet."

Arizona closed her eyes, attempting to fight off her rising tears.

And Callie—sitting across the ominous wooden table, much too far away—watched as the blonde fought that losing battle. A hopeless tear slid down a damask cheek, and Callie felt her chest _ache_ at the heartbreaking sight, physically weighing her down.

She felt her own eyes fill with tears of sympathy. How could the law not recognize Arizona as Sofia's mother? It wasn't right.

She knew she had to do something. She knew she couldn't just sit there and watch Arizona silently fall apart.

She couldn't bear to see her cry.

"Okay, listen," Callie began, an idea forming her head. "Have you, uh…have you started any proceedings?"

"Nothing has been filed."

"And you're saying that this process would be easier and faster if Arizona and I were together, correct?"

"Yes."

"How long?" Callie asked. "For the adoption? How long would it take if we were together?"

"Three months. Tops," he admitted simply.

"So if we were to…"

The lawyer thought he saw where Callie was going. Quickly, he shook his head. "As officer of the court, I can't condone…"

"You're fired."

"_What_?" Arizona gawked. "Callie, what are you doing?" She was too wrapped up in her own despondency to see where Callie was going with her idea.

"This meeting is still confidential if I fire you, yes?"

The young man smiled conspiratorially. "It is."

"Good." Callie stood up, shaking his hand. "Then you're officially fired. Send me a bill for your time, and we'll see ourselves out."

* * *

Once they were alone on the elevator, Arizona let her emotions get the better of her.

"What the hell just happened back there?" she demanded. "I can't believe you _fired _our lawyers. Now we have to start all over again, and it will add even more time. I knew it…" She shook her head, physically overcome with the fury she felt. "I _knew _you didn't want me to do this."

"Arizona, shut up." Callie kept her eyes glued to the elevator doors.

Arizona's eyebrows flew up. "'Shut up'?" she sassed. _What the hell_?

"Yes." Callie turned to the blonde, gently taking her by the shoulders. "Stop talking and listen to me. I fired him precisely so we _can _do this."

"But…"

"I have a plan."

Arizona let her shoulders slump. "Okay," she surrendered. "What's your plan?"

"You're going to sublet your place and move in with me."

"How does that…"

"And we'll pretend we're back together for the three months it takes to make you Sofia's legal mom," Callie continued. "I had to fire our lawyer, because he knew the truth. When we get a new lawyer, we'll already be living together and 'reconciled.'"

"Callie, that's…"

"Crazy, I know," Callie sighed. "I'm rash and impetuous, a-"

"And brilliant." Arizona offered a genuine smile. "_You_ are brilliant." Gratefully, she pulled Callie in for a hug, and Callie melted into it immediately. She had forgotten how right the blonde's hugs always felt.

Arizona closed her eyes, finally feeling like everything would be okay. "Thank you for this."

Callie's arms remained around Arizona's back. "You're welcome," she breathed. "You know I'd do anything for you."

"I know." Arizona finally released Callie from her arms. "I know you'd do anything, and that's why I can't let you do this."

"What? What do you mean? I _want _to."

Arizona pursed her lips. "I don't want to get in between you and…"

"Arizona," Callie interrupted before the blonde could even finish the thought. "There's nothing for you to get in between. Nothing's standing in the way"

Arizona's brow furrowed. She had thought that Callie was still…

She shook her head. It didn't matter, "I can't ask you to do this."

"You're not asking," Callie smiled. "I'm offering. It's my plan, remember? And I can't do this without you. You are an integral part of the plan. Like…the most important part."

"Okay." Arizona inhaled deep breath and let it out slowly, giving in at last. "Let's do this."

"Yay!"

"And I owe you," Arizona amended. "Big time."

The elevator dinged their arrival on the ground floor. "Come on, it's Taco Tuesday at Rancho Bravo." Callie winked and held out her hand for Arizona to take. "You can pay your dues by buying me lunch."

* * *

"You're subletting the house? When? To whom?" DeLuca followed Arizona around the kitchen as she fixed herself a cup of tea.

"Dr. Cross," Arizona explained, pouring the boiling water into her mug. "And soon. As soon as possible, actually."

"Ugh, Robbins!" Andrew whined, flopping down on one of the barstools. "He's a douche."

"I know," Arizona chuckled. "And I'm really sorry. I am. But this is really important to me, and I need you to back me on this."

"Okay," he sighed. "What do you me need to do?"

"All the heavy lifting."

* * *

Chief Bailey was a busy woman. She didn't have time for other people's personal problems; she had enough problems of her own. And, recently, her personal life had invaded into her professional, so she was doubly as stressed.

But when Robbins and Torres had asked for an official sit-down meeting with both her and a representative from human resources, she couldn't refuse.

She sat behind her desk, wanting to look professional. She had to keep that distance as chief—especially in light of everything going on with Ben. She couldn't be Callie's and Arizona's friend, in that moment; she was their boss, and she needed to act accordingly.

On her desk, the phone rang with an incoming call, and she answered immediately. "This is the Chief. Mm-hm. Sure. That's fine. No problem." She hung up and turned her attention back to Robbins and Torres, who were sitting on her sofa, feeling as if they were in the school principal's office. She eyed them suspiciously. She couldn't quite figure them out or what the purpose of the meeting was.

"That was HR," she explained. "The representative is running a few minutes late, but she's leaving her office now."

Arizona nodded nervously. "Okay. We can wait."

"So," Bailey prompted. "Why are you here?"

"What?" Callie questioned.

"What is this about?"

The two women across from her shared a look. Arizona nodded, signaling for Callie to speak first.

Callie swallowed, "Um… we need one of those official forms to declare us in a romantic…uh, and/or sexual relationship."

"What?" Bailey exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her chair. "You two are…"

"Back together? Yes," Arizona quickly assured her boss and friend, before Callie's inability to lie sunk them.

"Since when?"

"Since Tuesday," Callie replied curtly. It was the truth, afterall. They had come up with the plan on Tuesday, so it was their official fake-reconciliation date. Taco Tuesday was their new anniversary.

"Really..." Bailey forced her face to remain neutral, but something felt off. She had always hoped her two friends would find their way back to each other, but now, it didn't seem genuine. There was no joy. They hardly even looked at each other. "And this is _good _news?"

"The best," Callie insisted as believably as she could. She reached over and grabbed Arizona's hand, pulling it to her chest. Arizona just smiled and nodded her agreement.

"But," the chief pointed at Callie, "I thought you were still with…"

"Bailey," Callie warned, her voice dropping. "Really?"

"Look," Arizona interrupted. "Callie and I have both… _been _with other people, but we're together again now, and we just want to sign the official papers so we are officially on the record as being in an official relationship."

"With each other," Callie added. "_Officially_."

"That's… an awful lot of 'officials.'" Bailey narrowed her eyes, unconvinced. "What are you two up to?"

"We just want to be recognized as legitimate and sign the relationship contract. We don't want any secrets. Do you have a problem with that?" Callie asked.

"No, I guess not, but…" Bailey pursed her lips. Something was fishy, and she couldn't put her finger on what. "Kiss."

"What?"

"Kiss her, Torres," Bailey demanded.

It had been a long time since Callie had kissed Arizona, and she wasn't sure she wanted the next time to be in front of the hospital's Chief of Surgery. Wait, 'next time'?

"Uh… Bailey…" Callie sputtered. "I'm not going to kiss her in front of you. I'm a private person."

"Ha!" Bailey challenged. "Since when are _you _a private person?"

"I mean, Arizona's a private person! I'm not sure she wants to take part in a display of public affection in front of you, and…"

"If you want me to 'officially' sign those papers, you'll kiss."

"What? That's ridiculous." Callie looked between Bailey and Arizona. "You can't just hold us hostage for kiss-ransom…"

"I'm not going to commit fraud. Even for you, Torres," Bailey insisted. "Now kiss her like you mean it."

"Callie." Arizona reached out and touched Callie's cheek, "Just stop talking and kiss me already."

Deciding to surrender, Callie leaned towards Arizona. She brought her hand to the back of a milky neck, pulling her closer. Briefly, their eyes met before fluttering shut. Their lips touched—awkwardly at first. Then, the familiarly took over, and they relaxed into the feeling, their lips melding easily.

Melding perfectly.

Both women knew kisses could have many different meanings: a kiss could mean hello or goodbye; it could be an expression of love or of a platonic familial relationship. A kiss could be friendly and chaste, or it could be an invitation to more. It could be a promise of commitment and to a future. It could be awkward, or it could be beautiful. It could be soft. It could be loving.

In that moment, their kiss encompassed all of those feelings and none of those feelings at the same time. It was staged so, in that way, it was nothing; it was merely for Bailey's benefit.

But, in another way, it was also _everything_. That is, if the sudden warmth in their bellies and the thrum of their hearts was any indication.

Because staged or not, Callie and Arizona felt that kiss. And, more than feeling awkward, it felt good.

Really good.

The door to Bailey's office opened and Richard Webber poked his head in. "Bailey? I just ran into Jane from HR, and she asked me to bring you..." He stopped, following Bailey's gaze to the two women kissing on her couch. "Um…Miranda? Why the _hell _are Robbins and Torres making out on your couch?"

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this—moving in with my baby mama," Arizona worried as she and April packed up her bedroom. "Am I crazy? Is this crazy?"

"It's kind of crazy," April admitted.

Arizona sighed.

"But it'll be worth it!" April reassured her. "Right? You'll only have to pretend for a few months. Then, you can move back home."

Silently, Arizona worried her bottom lip between her teeth. She could survive living with Callie for three months, couldn't she? They had always been...pleasant, friendly co-parents, and that wouldn't change.

They were, however, pleasant, _friend_ly co-parents who had shared a less-than-friendly kiss for their boss's benefit. "We kissed," she admitted, breaking the comfortable silence.

April nearly dropped the books she had been holding. "_What_? When?"

Arizona bit her lip. "A few days ago."

April's eyes bulged. She couldn't wrap her head around the idea. Her friends had been divorced for over two years, and they had never so much as made physical contact in their time apart. They hardly even spoke to each other. "When? How? Was it...good?"

"No! I mean, well…" Arizona sputtered. "It was for Bailey. She didn't believe we were really together."

"You're not."

"I know!" Arizona exclaimed. And, even knowing that, she didn't know how to tell her best friend about the compelling, undeniable enjoyment she had experienced during that kiss. It had certainly been weird, given the circumstances—there was no doubt about that—but she also had felt the weight of their previous connection.

It had been as if all her past attraction to Callie had swirled to the surface when their lips had met. As if they hadn't been split up for so long. As if she hadn't cheated. As if Callie hadn't fallen out of love with her and left.

She shook her head, clearing the thoughts that were far too confusing to consider. "I don't want to talk about it," she insisted. "Distract me. How are you?"

"Arizona…" April warned. She knew that her best friend had a habit of shutting herself away when she was scared, and she didn't want her fear to ruin something that could be good.

Stubbornly, Arizona met April's eyes, pleading for her to drop the subject.

April exhaled a long breath of surrender. _We'll talk about it some more later_, she decided. Then, for the moment, she let the matter go. "It's weird being alone after living with Jackson for two years," she began.

Arizona waited, grateful for the welcome distraction. She always prefered to focus on other people's problems than her own. She had a knack for fixing other people but not herself.

"Like, yeah, I'm having this baby now, but I can't actually interact with it, yet," April continued. "And sleeping alone sucks…"

Arizona knew that feeling well. There were still days when she missed Callie's body wrapped around hers from behind.

"So, instead, I've been staying up late and watching TV. Did you hear that Ted Cruz is the zodiac killer?"

Arizona rolled her eyes, chuckling, "Hopefully, that actually swings some voters our way." Then, sensing April's watchful and worried eyes on her, she prompted, "Find any good shows?" She didn't know what to talk about; she only knew that she most definitely, without a doubt, did _not _want to talk about her suddenly complicated relationship with Callie. Or their kiss.

April made a face. "No good shows air at two in the morning." She paused, then gently began, "Arizona, shouldn't we talk abou-"

"What's your favorite movie?"

April fixed Arizona with a '_seriously_?' look.

"It's just that w-we're supposed to be best friends," Arizona rapidly stuttered, feeling April's judgmental eyes on her. "A-And I just realized that I don't even know. I mean, I should know your favorite movie, right?"

April knowingly crossed her arms. "Now you're just throwing shit out there and hoping it sticks."

Arizona released a hopeless sigh. Wasn't that the truth.

"When you _are _ready to talk about it, I'm here," April assured the blonde, giving her arm an affectionate squeeze.

Arizona nodded, smiling gratefully. "I know. _Thank you_."

"'Titanic.'"

"What?" Arizona's eyebrows rose as turned to face the redhead.

"It's my favorite movie," she shrugged. "It gets me everytime. Especially when Rose says 'I'd rather be his whore than your wife.' That's my favorite quote."

"Really?"

April nodded, "I mean it didn't used to be—I was so scandalized the first time heard it, but…I get it now. Rose chose love."

Arizona just nodded.

"What about you? Do you have a favorite 'Titanic' quote?"

Arizona scrunched up her nose. "I don't really like it."

"You don't like 'Titanic'?" April couldn't believe it. She'd thought everyone loved it. "Why not?"

"It was a stupid waste of a happy ending," Arizona grumped. "There was enough room on that chunk of wood for both of them. I _hate_ when happy endings get wasted."

* * *

Meredith and Callie sipped their beers while waiting for their burgers. They were having a much needed, long absent, girls night at Joe's. Both women had been busy with work and their personal lives over the past few months, but now that Amelia and Maggie were both back in the house and Callie was 'single,' they had opted to spend a night out to renew their friendship.

"So tell me about this thing with Arizona." Meredith picked up a peanut and crushed the shell between her fingers, carelessly throwing the crushed inedible bits on the table.

"What do you mean?" Callie raised her beer to her lips.

"You know what I'm talking about, Callie. She's moving back in with you. That's complicated."

"Not really," Callie lied. Oh, it was going to be complicated. She could pretend otherwise, but deep down, she knew that Meredith was right. Especially after that kiss. She'd forgotten what it was like to kiss Arizona, but no longer. That beast had been awakened. Unfortunately. "Because it's fake. Though you, Kepner…and maybe DeLuca, are the only ones that know that."

"You know I'm always up for a complicated scheme but, in my experience, these things never work out how you expect them to. There's going to be a wrench."

"A wrench?"

"Thrown in. Someone's going to throw a wrench. Someone _always _throws a wrench_._"

"No." Callie shook her head, insistently believing in the simplicity of their 'scheme.' "There will be no wrenches. We're just…We just need to do this for a couple months. You know how adoptions go. Arizona needs this, and Sofia deserves it. Besides, we're adults. We can handle it."

"When is it happening?"

"April's over there now helping her pack right now." Callie picked at her napkin. "Then, tomorrow she's moving in. Officially."

"You two really think you can live together without anything happening?" Meredith pressed.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't we?" Maybe if she said it enough, it would be true.

"Years ago, when Derek and I were broken up, being in close-quarters _always _led to sex. And we both already know you used to get excited by Arizona's vagina," she smirked.

Blushing, Callie remembered the conversation they'd had years ago, during the 30-day break. "That was before," she argued weakly. It was wrong for her to even picture sex with Arizona anymore, wasn't it? But since that kiss...

"Wait, don't tell me Blake was better." Meredith leaned in conspiratorially, ready to hear the gossip.

"No." Callie shook her head, immediately dissenting Meredith's words. "She was different. And don't get me wrong...It was good, especially at first, but emotionally...It didn't compare," she admitted. "Sex with Arizona was always…" She paused. It had been...transcendent. Life-affirming. Orgasmic, obviously, but also so much more. And, as foolish as she felt thinking the clichéd words, sex with Arizona had always been more than just sex: it had been making love. They had _made _love. Through the corporeal act of touching each other, pleasuring each other, focusing solely on the other, they had made love and felt their love expand infinitely. Sex with Arizona was always…

"_More_."

"'More'?" Meredith pressed, even though she knew just what Callie was referring to. She'd had that with Derek. Maybe it was time for Callie to realize that what she had with Arizona was a once in a lifetime thing.

"Do you know how coffee is really only good when it's hot?" Callie went on to explain. "When it's hot, it's _amazing_. It makes you warm. It makes you _moan_. There's…there's just nothing better. But when it's room temperature…"

"You only drink it because you need the boost?"

"Well, I wouldn't say 'only,' but…" She chuckled, then let out a frustrated sigh. "Arizona was always hot, _so_ hot…" Callie made a face, unable to verbalize the rest of that thought.

"I wonder if all I'll ever experience is lukewarm coffee." Meredith's face twisted with a sense of loss.

"I take it hot military doc wasn't so…hot?"

"Oh, he was hot, but the sex…Well, it was different—good even…" She echoed Callie's earlier sentiment. "But he wasn't Derek. I'll _never_ have _that_ again." She couldn't imagine sex ever being as good as it had been with Derek, but Callie's situation was different. Her friends weren't together because they had divorced; they had _chosen_ to be apart. Her husband, on the other hand, was gone. Forever. She had no choice but to accept that sex would be forever altered.

"I wonder the same thing sometimes," Callie admitted. "If I'll ever connect with someone the same way."

"Well, I may never, because the person I married is dead, but your person…your person is moving into your house as we speak. If you really wanted to…"

"I couldn't." Callie shook her head. "No matter how hot Arizona's coffee is, I couldn't. Because…" She bit her lip, heaving a heavy sigh.

"You afraid of getting burned?"

Callie nodded, repeating, "I'm _so_ afraid of getting burned."

Meredith figured she should move the subject away from sex, as it only served to frustrate them both even more than they were already.

"So, what did you tell Sofia about Arizona moving back in?"

"Oh," Callie's eyes went wide, and she nodded for emphasis. "We lied."

* * *

Andrew DeLuca carried in the heaviest of Arizona's boxes worked on placing them wherever the supervising women instructed. The current box in his arms was full of books, and he grunted with the effort of carrying its weight. Callie pointed him towards the bookcase in the family room.

"He's pretty useful, Arizona." Callie couldn't help but let her gaze follow the young man's backside as set the heavy box on the floor by the shelves. "And easy on the eyes."

"Yeah, he's been a great roommate." Arizona cut through the tape on a box labeled miscellaneous. "I got lucky with him."

"Not as lucky as Maggie, though," Callie whispered slyly, just as Andrew walked into the kitchen.

"I can testify to that," Arizona quickly whispered back, then smiled innocently at her former roommate. "There's water in fridge, Andrew. Thank you for the help, by the way."

"Yes," Callie added, giving him the once over,. Her eyes lingered on the tight t-shirt he wore and the muscular pecks it revealed. "We really appreciate you…I mean…your help. Thanks."

Andrew walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. He cracked the lid and gratefully downed the bottle's contents.

Callie watched him appreciatively, and Arizona silently watched Callie.

DeLuca wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "That was the last of the boxes, so I'm going to head out. I'm on-call for the rest of the weekend, but if you need any more help…"

"No, I think you got it all, thanks." Arizona ushered him toward the door. "I'll call you with the details of the lease later this week, if I don't see you at work first."

"Okay. Good luck, you two. Nice seeing you, Dr. Torres."

Arizona waited until she heard the front door shut, then immediately turned on Callie and playfully laid into her. "Was that absolutely necessary? You were ogling him like a piece of meat!"

Callie laughed. "No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were!"

"Okay, first of all, I don't _ogle _meat," Callie defended. "And second: I'm single. I can look at whoever I want."

Arizona's eyes widened in shock. That was news to her. "You're single? I thought..."

"I told you when we started this that there was nothing standing in the way—nothing that you were coming between." And that had been the truth. "We broke up before she left." Callie began cutting through the tape on a box labeled 'Personal Stuff.'

"Oh," Arizona was so distracted by Callie's admittance that she was single that she didn't realize the other woman was opening a box that wasn't just personal, but _very _personal.

Callie flipped open the flaps of the box and started to dig through the contents to see where to put away the items inside. As she rifled through it, however, her eyes suddenly bulged—almost comically wide. "Oh my god...Arizona? Whose penis is that?"

Arizona eyes shot to the box Callie had opened, and her face immediately flushed crimson. She reached over and slammed the top cardboard flaps shut. "It's not a penis!"

Callie smirked. "It looked like a penis."

Arizona heaved a long sigh, grabbing the box off of the table and away from Callie's wickedly amused gaze. She had never been so embarrassed. Callie had once known everything about her, sure—even the most intimate details—but that had been before: before their divorce and their permanent separation.

And given that, the discovery was awkward. More than that, it was _mortifying_. "It's a vibrator!" she hissed defensively. "Not a penis." She paused. "And, unlike you, I've been single for a long time. _You _don't get to judge."

As she carried off the box toward the room that was hers for the duration of her stay, she could feel Callie's ever watchful eyes following her and hear her light laughter behind her. "Come on, Arizona… don't be embarrassed," she called after her. "We all have one! Mine's in my sock drawer. You can go get it if you want. Laugh at me. Will that make you feel better?"

"Ew!" she shouted from the bedroom, "There's no way I'm touching that!"

That only made Callie laugh harder.

Thank God Sofia was at Meredith's for the afternoon.

* * *

Later that evening, the two women fixed dinner together for the first time in years. It was wonderfully domestic and surprisingly delightful. They'd always worked well together in the kitchen, and they easily fell back into that rhythm.

Sofia was sitting at the table drawing with her crayons, while Arizona moved in and around her to set the table.

"What are you drawing, baby girl?" She leaned over Sofia's shoulder to get a glimpse of her art. She could make out a house and possibly some people.

"That's us," Sofia pointed to the vaguely people-shaped scribbles. "Me, an' you, an' Mommy. And that's our house, 'cause we all live together now."

Arizona's eyes met Callie's; her ex-wife looked as unsure as Arizona felt. They knew they had to tread lightly to avoid breaking the young girl's heart when Arizona inevitably had to move back out. She sighed, then kissed the top of Sofia's head. "It's beautiful, sweetheart."

"You should hang it on the fridge, Sof," Callie called from the spot at the stove, a hint of melancholy laced her voice. "You need to put your crayons away, anyway. Dinner's almost ready."

Arizona packed up and put away the art supplies, and Sofia insisted on hanging up the picture herself.

Callie plated their food and joined Arizona at the dining room table. Sofia skipping along behind her.

The three shared a family dinner for the first time in years, and none of them could contain their excitement. They roared with laughter at Sofia's stories of her afternoon spent with Zola, Bailey, and Ellis. Apparently, Bailey was becoming quite a little prankster—so much so that Amelia and Maggie had trouble keeping up with him.

When they were finished eating, Sofia went to her room to pick out a book to read before bed, while Callie and Arizona worked side by side to clean up the dishes. Neither talked much, but the silence wasn't awkward. In fact, it was the opposite of awkward: the silence was familiar and comfortable.

Arizona hand-washed the dishes, and Callie dried them and put them away. When, suddenly, Arizona began fidgeting, Callie watched her with curious amusement.

The blonde rolled back her shoulders, shaking a little. She pulled her hands out of the dishwater and dried them, and resumed her spastic shimmying; this time, with her arms, too.

"Okay, what exactly are you doing?" Callie finally asked.

"I have an itch and I can't reach it," Arizona whined. She turned to face Callie, noticing her endeared smile. "Do you have a back scratcher?"

"There's a spork in my sock drawer that you can use," Callie offered facetiously.

"I'm not going _anywhere _near your sock drawer," Arizona grumbled. She still hadn't recovered from the vibrator incident. "Wait…why do you have a spork in your sock drawer?"

"Well, you see…" Callie waggled her eyebrows.

"No, you know what? Never mind." Arizona held her hands up in surrender, smiling and shaking her head. "I don't want to know."

Callie threw her head back and roared with laughter. "You're missing a great story…" she teased.

"Nuh-uh. I'm not falling for it."

"Just ask Sof about it sometime. She'll tell you."

Just then, Sofia walked into the kitchen with a book in hand. "Ask me what?"

"About the spork." Callie raised an eyebrow at her daughter, then pointed with her head toward Arizona. "Momma wants to know why it's in my drawer."

Sofia's eyes got as big as saucers, and she shook her head no. Her small cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Oh, no, Momma, I'm not telling…" She dropped her book on the table. "It's time for my bath." She ran out of the kitchen, with Callie chasing her down the hall, laughing.

"Well, now I have to know," Arizona decided, trailing behind them.

"Oh, no. It's too late. You said you didn't want to know. You'll have to convince Sof to tell you."

"Callie, come on…" Arizona pleaded, the itch on her back long-forgotten.

"Nope." Callie grinned. "My lips are sealed."

That only made Arizona more determined. She took off after Callie, who let out an uncharacteristic squeal as she tried to escape the pursuing blonde.

* * *

"Dude," Alex greeted, sitting down beside Meredith, Maggie, and April at their cafeteria table. He nodded towards Callie and Arizona, who were seated a few tables away. "Look at them."

Meredith looked over, smirking at her friends; the two women sat across from each other, each eating a slice of pizza and freely talking and laughing. She'd had a feeling that living together might change their relationship and, already, she knew she'd been right.

"You know something," Alex insisted, reading his friend's expression.

April's eyes widened, but she quickly looked down, stuffing french fries into her mouth and hoping Alex wouldn't set his sights on her.

"What's there to know?" Maggie asked. "They're back together, and it's obviously working. They look happy."

"They do," Meredith agreed, but her tone was telling.

There was an underlying sense of unaffectedness that led Alex to believe there was more going on than what met the eye. Plus, Arizona had been surprisingly vague about the whole thing. It wasn't like she was generally one to share the intimate details of her life, but this felt different to Alex.

"Oh, 'it's obvious,' alright," he shrugged. "To anyone who doesn't know them. Right, Mer?"

"Alex," she warned. "Don't."

"I mean, you know things… I know things…" He looked at April who refused to make eye contact. "It's obvious _she _knows things. Things she doesn't want to know."

April scowled at Alex, but she didn't deny anything.

"See?" he smiled. "We all know."

"I don't know," Maggie interrupted. "Tell me! I can keep a secret."

"Fine," April caved. Easily. "They aren't really back together."

"April, no!" Meredith growled. But it was too late. "He's lyi—"

"It's all an elaborate ploy for Arizona to legally adopt Sofia," April explained. "They're pretending to love each other."

"Lying," Meredith finished, unnecessarily. "He was lying."

"I knew it!" Alex threw up his arms as if he'd won a wrestling championship, then slowly lowered them when he remembered where they were. "I _knew _something was up."

Maggie turned her head and scrutinized the two women. "It doesn't look pretend to me."

"It certainly doesn't," Meredith added, the corner of her mouth quirking up.

* * *

A few weeks later, on a Saturday morning, Callie opted to sleep in and didn't walk into the kitchen until eleven a.m.

And, when she did, her eyebrows immediately knit together in confusion. She turned towards Arizona, who was pouring herself a mug of coffee, and pointed towards the dining room table. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she prompted, "Why are there donuts, donut holes, and glue on the table?"

Arizona turned to smile at Callie. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

Oh. Right. Pleasantries. "Morning." Callie offered a sheepish smile. Then, she waited for an answer.

"Sof's historical diorama is due on Monday," Arizona explained. "We were working on it this morning before breakfast, but she was getting really frustrated." She paused, lowering her voice. "I thought donuts might help. You know they always make me feel better."

"I do know that," Callie remembered. "Is she okay now?"

Arizona nodded cheerfully, pouring coffee into a second mug. She added a little milk and sugar to one, and a lot of milk and sugar to the other. "She's fine. The donuts helped, and we finished up about half an hour ago. She's in her room reading a book."

"You're amazing," Callie complimented. "_Thank you_."

Arizona's eyebrows shot up, surprised by the concealed emotion in her ex-wife's voice. "For what?" All she had done was help their daughter with her homework; that was hardly a task that warranted compliments.

Callie shrugged. "For being you. For being such a good mother. And person," she added shyly.

Arizona smiled, handing Callie the stronger cup of coffee. "Here. If I remember correctly, it's just the way you like it."

* * *

Callie'd had a tough loss: her patient, a sweet old woman and former feminist activist in the 1970s, had died during a routine hip replacement surgery; she had just been too weak to withstand the trauma.

So, like she had many times before, Callie had opted to make her way up to the nursery to look at all the happy, living, breathing babies.

And, as it had turned out, Arizona had been there, on the other side of the window, checking up on all the former preemies.

Seeing her there, cooing over the little ones and being an incredible doctor, made Callie feel even better. Silently, she watched the blonde, smiling, when she heard footsteps behind her.

Chief Bailey walked towards her friend, watching Callie watch Arizona. "Torres…" she began, sounding a little less self-assured than usual.

Callie reluctantly tore her eyes away from Arizona to look over at Bailey. "Hey."

Bailey made a face. "I think I owe you an apology."

Callie widened her eyes in mock-shock. That had been the last thing she had expected her friend to say. Bailey wasn't one to apologize; that much Callie knew. "_You_ owe _me _an apology?"

"As your friend," Bailey clarified. "Not as your boss."

Callie waited. "I'm listening."

Bailey nodded towards Arizona, who noticed them standing there and offered a quick smile and wave before returning to her work.

Her eyes tracking the blonde, Bailey began, "I shouldn't have doubted you two when you first came to me. You were acting weird, but I should have believed you when you said you were back together."

Callie gulped, feeling very, very guilty. Bailey'd had reason to doubt them. They had lied. They were still lying.

"But it's clear how much you love each other," she continued. "It's obvious in the way she looks at you, and in the way you look at her."

"Bailey, I-"

Bailey turned to face the taller woman. "I'm happy for you, and I should have said that at the start," she lamented. "After all, I was the one who officiated your wedding. And I spent long enough waiting for you two to figure your crap out!"

Callie laughed, though it came out a little forced. How would she ever tell her friend the truth? Or...would she have to?

"We should have another girls night, soon," Bailey suggested, grumbling, "Lord knows I need one."

* * *

"Robbins!" Richard whisper-hissed, beckoning his friend over.

Furrowing her brows, Arizona hesitantly walked towards her former wingman. "Hey." She offered an unsure smile.

The man crossed his arms, giving her a knowing look. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

Arizona felt her stomach do somersaults. "What do you mean?" she worried.

"You love her!" Richard exclaimed. He had been alive a long time, and he'd had his fair share of experiences; and, with that knowledge, he knew that Callie and Arizona were lying to their coworkers, lying to each other, and even lying to themselves.

To the public, they claimed to be together; that was a lie. To each other and themselves, they claimed that they were 'friends' and 'co-parents'; that was a lie because, in truth, they were so much more. They always had been.

"I see things. Lots of things. Things other people miss. Because," he pointed to his chest, "I'm paying attention. I know there is the an adoption involved, and I don't want to mess with that, but this is it, Robbins. What you've been searching for. You found it. You know it, and I know it."

"Richard, I…" Arizona trailed off. She wasn't exactly sure what he wanted her to do, but she knew it wasn't possible. "I can't."

"You have to," Richard insisted, taking her by the shoulders. "This is your chance. She loves you, and you love her. Don't let your fear get in the way of admitting it."

Arizona knew Richard was right. But, still, she wasn't ready to admit the truth. Not yet.

* * *

Being a surgeon came with many perks, money and respect being high on the list, but also pride in knowing one could do something—life saving or life changing—that very few people in the world could do. There were also many downsides: long hours and erratic schedules being the chief among those.

Callie was exhausted as she put the key in the lock on her front door. She had been in surgery all day and was getting home well after Sofia's dinnertime; it was actually closer to her bedtime. She pushed open the heavy wooden front door, and she was surprised to hear loud music and the sound of Arizona's and Sofia's playful giggles in another room.

With a curious smile gracing her lips, she walked further into the house, searching for her family. "Arizona? Sofia?"

"In here!" Arizona called, causing Callie to change directions and head towards the kitchen, instead.

When she walked into the room, she couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled past her lips. Sofia was dancing on a chair in the middle of the kitchen, whisk in hand and brownie batter all over her face. Beside her, Arizona was shaking her hips to Taylor Swift, looking more confident and carefree than the had in years.

"You two decided to have a party without me?"

"Mommy!" Sofia squealed, hopping down from the chair and running towards Callie.

"Wait," Callie commanded before Sofia's sticky, fudgey fingers could make contact with one of her favorite blouses.

Sof stopped in place, and Callie tickled her ribs, making the little girl thrash and flail. She leaned down, offering her daughter her cheek instead of a chocolatey hug. "Can I have a kiss?"

Sofia tilted her head up, planting a loud smooch on her mom's cheek.

A few feet away, Arizona smiled at the sweet interaction.

"Dance with us!" Sofia demanded, running over to grab Arizona's hand and lead her towards the more spacious dining room.

Another fast-paced song came on, and Callie gestured towards her bedroom. "I'm going to go take a quick shower, Sof. I don't want to interrupt you two."

"Oh, don't be stupid," Arizona argued sweetly, twirling Sof in a circle.

When Callie remained hesitant, Arizona sighed. Covertly, she whispered, "I'm going to go make Mommy dance" in Sofia's ear, causing the little girl to giggle mischievously as Arizona reached for her ex-wife's hand.

"Come on," she teased, urging Callie to follow her easy movements. "You know you want to…"

That was all the encouragement Callie needed. She shook her hips, pulling Arizona closer and offering Sof her other hand.

Sof clasped it excitedly, shaking her hips alongside her moms.

As the song played on, Arizona met Callie's eyes, and the two women shared a passing moment of poignant nostalgia—as a series of similar moments, from a lifetime ago, danced through their memories.

Briefly, their smiles faded as they regretted their past hurts and remembered the pain of their separation, but the moment didn't last long. Distracted by Sofia pulling them closer—towards herself and towards each other—soon, the three of them felt nothing but pure, unadulterated happiness: breathlessly laughing and dancing together.

As a family.

* * *

"Sweetie?" Callie questioned once she and Arizona had finished explaining the situation. "Do you remember what we told you when Momma moved in?"

Slowly, Sofia nodded. "Yeah." She turned towards her momma. "Andrew's friend needed a place to stay, so you were gonna live here for a little while."

"Right." Arizona drew her lower lip between her teeth, the released it with a nervous exhale. "Well...that wasn't _exactly_ true."

"You lied?" Sofia's little hands covered her mouth in shock.

"No," Callie interrupted, inadvertently lying again (oops). But she didn't want Sofia thinking Arizona had been anything but genuine in her intentions. "Not exactly."

Arizona swooped in to save Callie. "Andrew's friend _did _need a place to stay, but there was also another reason." Her eyes met Callie's, silently begging for help.

"You see, Sof, Momma needs a piece of paper."

"Paper?" A small line appeared between Sof's brows as she tried to figure out what her mom was talking about.

"Yes." Arizona sat down on the couch beside her. "This piece of paper is very important to me."

"Why?" Sofia had lots of papers she could give her momma if she needed one so bad, and she said as much.

"But this one is really important," Arizona explained, "Because it will officially say that I'm your momma."

"Why do you need a piece of paper to say that? You're already my momma, silly."

"We know that," Callie acknowledged. "This is just… like a certificate. One that proves once and for all that you belong to Momma."

"Build-a-Bear," Arizona blurted, thinking of a way to explain the concept to the little girl.

Sofia turned to look at her mom, her small face scrunched up in confusion. Arizona smiled at the look, and then she laughed when she noticed that Callie was sporting the same expression. Like mother like daughter, indeed.

"You know when we went to Build-a-Bear and you adopted Tickle Bear?" Arizona prompted.

"Yeah!" Sofia recalled.

"Remember how you got that slip of paper, saying that Tickle belonged to you? That he was yours forever?"

"I remember. It said that I was his momma!" Sofia jumped up and down in her excitement.

"That's right." Arizona pulled her daughter in for a hug, planting a sweet kiss on her head. "I just want a certificate like that. One that says I'm _your _momma."

"Oh, okay," Sofia immediately agreed. "Can I get one, too? To hang in my room next to Tickle's?"

Callie smiled. "I think we can make you a copy."

"Yay!"

"But we need you to do something, Sof, and it's really important." Arizona started.

"Someone is going to be talking to you," Callie added. "A woman just needs to ask you a few questions."

"What kind of questions?"

"We aren't exactly sure, but probably about Momma and me."

"I know lots of stuff about both of you! I can answer questions."

"Are you sure?"

"Mm-hm," Sofia insisted.

"Now..." Callie licked her lips and met Arizona's equally-worried eyes. Both hated asking their daughter to lie for them, but it was inevitable. She was going to have to lie…just a little. "She might ask why Momma moved here, and we don't want you to say what we told you. About Andrew's friend? We just want you to say she wanted to be with us all the time."

"Because that's the truth," Arizona added, smiling brightly despite her anxiety. "I can't think of two people who I'd rather spend my time with. _All _my time."

And that _was _the truth.

* * *

Callie, Arizona, and Sofia had been living together for almost two months. All three felt happier than they had been in years, and it showed. At work, Callie sang, hummed, and was downright giggly, and Arizona's dimples hadn't receded in weeks.

Sofia reveled in the love and attention. It wasn't as if she hadn't felt it before, but now, when she made something with her mommy, she didn't have to wait to show her momma. She was there—they both were—all the time.

Which is why there were little butterflies flitting about in her tummy that afternoon. An important lady was there to ask her questions about her moms, and she didn't want to mess up. She really, really wanted her momma to have that piece of paper.

"Hi Sofia." The woman smiled, crouching down to be at eye-level with the six-year-old. "My name's Leslie. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

Sofia looked towards Callie and Arizona, who both offered her encouraging smiles. "Okay," she smiled.

"Great." Leslie turned to face Callie and Arizona, vowing, "I just need to talk to her for a few minutes. You two sit tight. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Callie nodded in understanding, and Arizona offered a genuine "Thank you."

The woman ushered Sofia into the adjacent room, shutting the door behind them.

As soon as the woman was out of sight and Callie and Arizona could only hear the sound of muffled smalltalk through the wooden door, Arizona closed her eyes, leaning her head against the doorframe.

She couldn't help but worry, even despite the social worker's reassurances. She just wanted Sofia to be _hers_, in every sense of the word, once and for all. And even though she considered herself an optimist, she couldn't entirely repress her fear. Her life, in truth, rarely turned out the way she liked.

After all, she had lost her leg. And her wife.

A few feet away, Callie mirrored her ex-wife's position, resting her head against the opposite side of the doorframe. "You still nervous?" she whispered, careful not to disrupt the conversation inside.

Lifting her lids to meet Callie's eyes, Arizona merely nodded.

Callie released a sympathetic sigh. "We'll get you that piece of paper," she promised. "However long it takes, I promise you we'll get it." That was one promise she could keep.

Arizona smiled softly, silent but thankful for Callie's decisive words.

Feeling waves of anxiety continually pulsing past the blonde's small frame, Callie offered out her hand. Verbally, she had offered Arizona all the consolation she could. Physically, however, she had more comfort to offer. She thought that, maybe—if nothing else—a hand to hold might help.

And it did. Arizona reached for Callie's hand and, soon, two caramel palms cradled her own, offering a sense of oneness and warmth.

She held onto Callie's hand as if it were a life raft that could save her, rather than merely an extremity made up of metacarpals, sinews, and a dorsal venous network.

Callie's hands saved lives. They touched broken bones and torn bodies and mended them. They were magical and, like magic, they grounded Arizona. They offered a sense of safety and hope, even in a state of uncertainty.

Their heat melted Arizona's qualms.

And, in their silence, they were able to hear Sofia interact with the social worker.

"My mommies love each other," she vowed with conviction.

On the other side of the door, Callie and Arizona's eyes bulged, and they suddenly refused to look at each other. _What was Sofia talking about_?

Leslie's lips quirked up. "They do?" she prompted indulgently. Often, she was forced to enter households where the parents very clearly did not love one another. She appreciated the change in pace, so she reveled in it. "How do you know?"

If Callie and Arizona had been quiet before, they then became dead silent. Neither woman so much as breathed as they waited for their daughter to answer.

Sofia grinned. "Because they smile all the time now, and they didn't used to," she explained. "Momma always tells me that love is when someone can make you smile, even on the sad days."

Callie's eyes flicked to Arizona, but Arizona's remained fixed to the door. She refused to meet her ex-wife's eyes, even as she felt her face burn.

"Well, your momma is very wise," Leslie complimented. "And it's clear that your moms love each other very much."

Callie's eyes remained on Arizona's face. Silently, she perused her soft porcelain skin, her mysterious cerulean eyes, her pink lips, and those smile wrinkles that had formed around her eyes from all the times Sofia had made her laugh.

Watching her ex-wife, she appreciated everything she was and everything she would ever be. Every part of her. Every piece—even her stubbornness, even her intensity, and even the parts that drove Callie crazy.

Seconds later, Leslie threw open the door, almost walking right into Callie and Arizona's still-clasped hands. "Oh!" she jumped.

Immediately, they dropped their respective hands to their sides, allowing the woman passage. Bouncing on her toes, Arizona wondered, "How'd it go?" immediately turning her attention to the social worker and her daughter.

"Good," Sofia chirped. "She gave me a lollipop, but I'm gonna wait 'til after I eat my dinner."

Arizona grinned. "Good girl," she cooed, tousling dark-brown hair as Sofia skipped past them to go play with her dolls.

As soon as Sof was out of earshot, Arizona turned back to the social worker. "Did it really go well?"

Leslie smiled at both women. "It went great," she assured them. "This home visit was the last hoop your family had to jump through. You're in the homestretch. I just need to process my report, and you should get the official, signed adoption papers in a week or two."

Callie's jaw dropped. "Wait, what?" she doubted. "That's it? It's done?"

The social worker nodded. "It's a pretty cut and dry case." She turned to face Arizona, rifling through her papers to look for something. "I asked your coworkers and friends for testimonies. Alexander Karev stated that he wouldn't be the surgeon, or person, he is today if it weren't for you. And, about you two as a couple, he said, 'they're gross but, you know...in a good way.'" Her lips quirked up into a smile, which only widened when she saw Callie and Arizona sneak sly peeks at one another out of the corners of their eyes.

"Richard Webber," she continued, "Stated that he personally sought you out to work at Grey-Sloan not only due to your surgical abilities, but also because, uh..." She paused, looking down at her notes. "Dr. Tim Kenner at Johns Hopkins insisted you were the 'most promising doctor he'd ever seen as well as one of the most incredible people.'"

Callie grinned as she watched Arizona's cheeks blush. That was the truth.

"Miranda Bailey," she read on, "Well...first, she told me she was too busy."

Callie and Arizona chuckled; that sounded just like her friend.

"But, then," she looked back at Arizona. "She said you were one of the best teachers she's ever had. She then added she officiated your first wedding and that she 'damn well better be invited to the second.'" She waited a moment for that to sink in, then forged on: "April Kepner was nothing but complimentary about your character, except she did say that she was better at keeping secrets than you."

Arizona cringed. Even months later, April was still a little bitter about the whole telling-Jackson-she-was-pregnant fiasco.

"And Meredith Grey?" the woman scrolled through her notes. "Um, let's see…she had some really favorable comments about you professionally and about your relationship together. She said her best friend/soulmate moved away and the love of her life died, so she stopped believing in happy endings, but that you and Callie are 'extraordinary together' and give her hope." She smiled, reading further: "Oh, oops…She also went on to demand that I not tell anyone that she said that." Leslie looked up and cringed. "Could you maybe not mention that I divulged that part?"

Both women hastily agreed. "Of course," Arizona agreed, while Callie nodded affirmatively.

"So you see, Dr. Robbins, you are well-respected and loved. Your peers view both you and your relationship as above reproach. There's no reason for you not to be her legal parent and, soon, you'll have the official documentation to prove it."

Still too stunned by the news—and by their friends' commentary—to do anything but stare at the woman, Leslie knowingly led Callie and Arizona towards the front door, wanting to give the sweet family time to process the good news. "It was a pleasure to meet you both. And Sofia," she added, shaking their hands.

"Thank you so much for everything," Callie and Arizona gushed once more. Then, they shut the door behind the woman's retreating figure.

As soon as the door shut, Callie turned to face Arizona, whose eyes had welled up with tears of joy.

"Arizona…" Callie breathed, feeling her own eyes water at the sight. She stepped towards her ex-wife, reverently vowing, "You're her momma."

Arizona's grin extended from ear to ear, her face almost hurting from the strength of her happiness. "I'm her momma," she repeated, her voice breathy. "_Finally_."

Knowing well, in light of recent events, just how much this moment meant to Arizona, Callie crossed into her space, wrapping two strong arms around her smaller frame.

Immediately, Arizona reached up to return the hug, burying her face in Callie's neck and tightening her hold around her body. If it weren't for Callie's strength and heat against her, she might not even have believed the moment were real. Callie's touch reinforced the blissful reality of their success, and she reveled in it.

And, if she were being entirely honest with herself, she might admit that she also appreciated the touch for an entirely different reason.

Having heard the front door shut, Sofia ambled out of her room, hurrying towards her moms to find out what had happened.

She smiled when she found them locked in a tight embrace. "Are we getting it?" she asked, excitedly bouncing in anticipation. "Are we getting the certificate, Momma?"

"Yes, honey," Arizona sniffled, sitting down on the couch and opening her arms to Sofia.

She eagerly raced into them, hugging her mom back as tightly as she could.

Callie sat down beside them, one arm resting on the back-cushion behind Arizona, the other on the small of Sofia's back.

She felt her heart fill with joy, feeling like a truly happy family as Arizona peppered Sofia's head and cheeks with kisses, murmuring, "You're mine, you're mine, you're mine."

"She's yours," Callie echoed, offering additional reassurance and further adding to Arizona's elation. "_Officially_."

* * *

"Hey." Callie tiptoed into Sofia's darkened room and headed towards where Arizona was seated on the bed, watching her sleep.

"Hey," Arizona breathed, turning her attention away from the sleeping beauty to smile at her ex-wife.

Callie sat down beside her, nearly shuddering at the feeling of Arizona's right thigh against her own leg.

As Callie sat beside her on the edge of the bed, Arizona felt her skin tingle at the body contact—even while knowing how minimal and chaste it was.

"Out like a light, huh?" Callie whispered, her eyes on Sofia.

"Yeah," Arizona exhaled, content to just watch their daughter sleep peacefully. "I think she was almost as nervous about this meeting as I was. I'm worried I scared her," she lamented, running her fingers through silky brown strands of hair.

"You didn't scare her," Callie assured her. "She could just tell how much you cared, which is a _good _thing."

Arizona didn't offer a response and, a few seconds later, Callie stood up. "Come on," she beckoned.

Arizona's eyebrows furrowed.

"This was it," Callie explained. "The wait is over, and we'll get that paper soon. Let me open a bottle of champagne so we can celebrate."

"Callie, you don't have to-"

"I know I don't have to," Callie, interrupted, giving her a tender smile. "But I _want _to celebrate. This is a big deal." She wanted Arizona to know how much she valued her as an equal parent; she didn't want her ex-wife to ever question that.

"Okay," Arizona surrendered, pecking Sofia's forehead and following after the brunette.

"Go ahead and sit down," Callie offered, gesturing towards the couch. "I just need to grab it from the fridge."

Arizona was about to offer to bring over two wine glasses, when she noticed that they were already placed on the coffee table. Callie clearly had been ready to celebrate the day of their success, and her thoughtfulness made the blonde smile.

Callie walked in, cold champagne in hand and steaming cold.

"Callie…" Arizona warned, her eyes locked on the extravagant bottle.

Knowing what her ex-wife was thinking, Callie set the bottle down on the table, sitting down beside Arizona and putting her hands up in surrender. While it was true that the 'Moët &amp; Chandon Dom Perignon White Gold' was one of the more expensive bottles, it wasn't like it wasn't in her price range. And, even if it were, Callie knew that Arizona deserved the very best; she would have been willing to pay someone every cent she had if it would ensure the blonde's happiness.

"You shouldn't have-"

"Arizona." Callie put an end to her ex-wife's complaints with a dazzling smile. "Stop worrying. Money doesn't matter. This: Sofia being ours—both of ours—_does_."

Arizona exhaled a long breath of surrender, finally allowing herself to match Callie's mega-watt smile.

Satisfied, Callie poured a generous amount of sweet champagne into each glass and handed one to Arizona. "Should we toast?"

"To being a family?" Arizona suggested.

Callie's smile widened even more, and she felt her chest pool with unrivaled joy. "To being a family," she confirmed, and they clinked glasses and took a long sip.

"Mmm," Arizona moaned appreciatively.

Callie grinned. "It's good. Admit it."

"It is," she surrendered. "All day was."

"Yeah," Callie exhaled, recalling their eventful day that had ended on such a happy note. Then, she remembered: "Sofia was such a sweetheart earlier, when she was talking to Leslie."

Arizona's eyes shot up to Callie's face. Instantly, she knew what her ex-wife was referring to. "When she insisted that we love each other because we 'smile more,' now?"

Gulping, Callie nodded. She had felt a visceral reaction when she'd heard the words earlier, and she felt it again, in that moment.

Sofia was right. Since Arizona had moved in, she—without a doubt—knew that she had smiled more. Arizona's joyful spirit rubbed off on her, and even just her presence made Callie feel _better_. Happier. More loving and more loved.

Arizona pursed her lips, her eyes exploring Callie's face. Callie was the woman with whom she had fallen in love—again and again—every day since she had moved in.

With Callie's bright brown eyes on her, Arizona silently surveyed the face of the woman she loved, appreciating the outer beauty that made her stomach flutter and only hinted at the inner beauty of her heart and soul.

Suddenly, neither woman could stand to keep their feelings a secret any longer.

Simultaneously, they admitted: "She was right." "It's true, you know."

Their eyes shot up. "What?" Callie demanded.

"Wait, what are you saying?" Arizona backtracked. Could it be possible that Callie was on the same page?

"What are _you _saying?"

Arizona inhaled a breath in preparation. She needed to take the risk. The only thing standing in between her and her dreams was her fear. And it was high time she fought that.

"I'm saying she was right," Arizona vowed. "Sof was right: I'm happier here, with you. And Leslie was right. I _do _love you."

Callie's eyes widened. "You do?"

Almost imperceptibly, Arizona shook her head, as if she were unable to even fully comprehend how deeply, fully, and inevitably she loved Callie. "I do."

"Arizona…" Callie breathed, overcome with unbridled joy. "I…I love you, too."

"Really?" Arizona felt her breath catch in her throat. Oh, how she'd ached to hear those words.

"Yes, really," Callie promised. Duh. It was impossible not to love Arizona; she could never stop—no matter how hard she had tried not to during their time apart.

Arizona's heart ran rampant in her chest. "So...what does this mean?"

"What do you think it means?"

"I think it means…I want to kiss you, and not because Bailey is making me. Actually…I wanted to kiss you even when she made us, but that's…" She trailed off, then breathily, she maintained: "I want to kiss you, Callie. I always want to kiss you."

"Kiss me, then." Before Arizona could even answer, Callie began leaning forward, desperate to finally feel those soft pink lips against hers.

Eagerly, Arizona met her in the middle, devotedly cradling Callie's cheeks in her palms. Her thumb lightly traced down a caramel cheek, and Callie felt herself shudder at the welcome feeling.

Their lips a hair's breadth away, Arizona exhaled, "I love you, Calliope." Now that she could finally say the words, she wanted to repeat them again, and again, and again.

And, feeling Arizona's sweet, warm breath against her mouth, Callie couldn't wait a second longer. With her heart pounding in her chest and her blood pulsating other places, she closed the distance, brushing her lips against Arizona's and tasting champagne and the sweet flavor of the mouth she craved.

The blonde's lips parted at the welcome contact, and Callie immediately pressed forward as their warm, wet tongues melded together.

Arizona whimpered, grateful to finally get a taste of the woman she loved again, and pulling her impossibly closer. When their breasts rubbed together even despite their awkward positioning, she felt a shiver consume her frame.

It was electrifying: being with Callie again. Like _this_. She was already breathless, and she felt the brunette briefly pull back, gasping for much-needed oxygen.

"God, I love you," she murmured, her devoted lips immediately finding Arizona's, again. Her hands caressed the smooth ivory skin she found beneath a worn t-shirt, and she felt her abdomen jolt at the sound of Arizona's sudden unfiltered, unguarded moan. "Callie…"

Both women were overcome with an insatiable hunger for the other. After years apart and three months of painful close-quartered separation, they were desperate for each other: to complete each other, to pleasure each other, and to feel a sense of unbroken unity, for once and for all.

For once and forever.

Finally pulling away—but not far—Arizona blinked languidly at Callie, admitting, "I missed that."

Licking her lips, Callie reached up, lovingly tucking a strand of blonde hair behind Arizona's ear. "I missed _you_."

Arizona dimpled, overcome with love that expanded indefinitely. "Seriously," she swore. "You have no idea how much I'd hoped it'd be you and me in the end."

"I think I do," Callie maintained. "Because I felt the same. Because _you _are the love of my life. You're the one I choose. Forever."

And that was the truth. Ultimately,for Callie, Arizona was the one person who truly made everything worth it; she was a salve for Callie's soul, even on her darkest days, and on the good days, she just made everything _more_. She was the one person—apart from Sofia—who Callie loved with her whole heart and body and soul, entirely and completely, in her weakness and in her strength.

Arizona thought she might burst with the fullness she felt. She knew that Callie was the one love of her life, and she was beyond grateful to discover that Callie felt the exact same way. Her index finger ghosted down the column of Callie's neck, and she wondered aloud, "When did you know?" They had lived together for the past three months, and she was curious about when had Callie first realized how deep her feelings were. "That you loved me?"

Callie's lips rose into a serene smile. She knew the answer to that question immediately. She replied simply: "When you said you 'like the girl who has the sandwiches.'"

That was the moment she had known. And—ever since that moment—her love for Arizona had remained. They hadn't ever faded. Not for a second.

"Wait…" Confused, Arizona made a face. "That was years ago."

Her palm coming up to clasp Arizona's wandering hand and intertwine their fingers, Callie beamed, "I know."

* * *

Two weeks later, the signed adoption papers finally came in the mail, and Callie, Arizona, and Sofia were still—and forever—one united family.

Callie and Arizona walked through the double doors of the hospital with their hands entwined and swinging merrily at their sides.

"I have a surgery at four, so I might be home late," Arizona warned once they were inside.

"Aww," Callie pouted. "We'll miss you."

Arizona grinned, leaning in for one final kiss before they parted ways. "Meet me for lunch?"

"You know it," Callie agreed, closing the distance and returning a quick kiss.

A few feet away, standing by the ground-floor nurses' station, Meredith watched the interaction with narrowed eyes. Callie had informed her a few days before that the adoption papers had come at last. With that in mind, there could only be one reason for the two women still acting like a couple.

She walked towards her friends before either had the chance to walk away. With raised brows, she smirked, "The adoption's official now. Sofia's legally yours. You two can stop pretending."

Arizona dimpled. "We know," and Callie admitted the truth: "We're not pretending." She looked at the blonde, infinite tenderness emanating from her eyes.

Meredith sniggered. She pointed a knowing, accusatory finger at Callie. "I _knew_ you you wouldn't be able to live with a hot cup of coffee and not drink it."

Callie's eyes bulged. "Meredith!" she chided. But her friend was already walking away, offering a playful wave.

"What?" Arizona turned to face the blushing brunette. "Callie, what does that mean?"

She didn't have a simple answer to that question. Callie squeezed Arizona's milky hand, opting not to delve into the details but admitting the ultimate truth: "It means no one compares to you."

"Really?" Arizona dimpled, and blue eyes explored Callie's face. Then, bravely: "You think I'll ever be officially yours, again?" she questioned. "Legally, I mean."

To this question, Callie's answer was straightforward. She grinned, entirely overcome with love for the other woman. "I can't imagine a future where you aren't."


	132. Chapter 132

**Had a little fun with the custody battle speculation. Written after 12x17. This is an AU!**

**Let me know what you think, as always!**

* * *

Even with her friends' supportive testimonies, a part of Arizona could sense that the jury wasn't going to swing her way – especially after Richard's honest confession about her recent supposed "promiscuity."

She was going to lose her daughter. Not for long, she knew. But even still, she would lose her. Sofia would be far away with Callie and Penny, and Arizona would be alone, without the tiny person she loved more than anything.

And that was the mindset with which she approached the witness stand. She sat down, looking out at the lawyers, at her friends, and at Callie's regretful face.

They both _hated_ to have this fight, but what other choice did they have? They both wanted to be with Sofia, and they couldn't both be with her at once – not anymore.

So they were in court, fighting against each other, and Callie immediately lowered her eyes in shame. She knew as well as Arizona did that she was on her way to winning, and – as grateful as she felt – she also felt miserable. She felt villainous. And wrong. And she couldn't see that pain reflected in her ex-wife's face.

Callie's lawyer approached the blonde, and Arizona gulped. Frankly, the woman terrified her.

"Ms. Robbins," the woman began. "In order to give the jury a better image of who you are, I was hoping you might tell us how you first met my client."

Arizona's eyes bulged and – across the room – so did Callie's. "What?" Callie snapped, turning towards her other lawyer. What did that have to do with anything?

Patiently, the woman waited for a response.

Arizona cleared her throat. She turned to the judge. "Is this really relevant?"

He faced the lawyer. "Is it?" he demanded.

"Yes, your honor," she insisted. "And the jury will be enlightened shortly." She had a plan of action, and she wasn't afraid to play dirty. Her client was going to win the case. Even if that meant destroying Arizona.

The judge nodded in approval, and everyone turned back to face Arizona.

She licked her lips, her eyes instantly finding Callie. With an almost wistful smiled, she admitted: "I kissed her."

Callie's big chocolate browns shot up, their eyes locking. It had been a lifetime ago but, suddenly, it felt like just the day before.

"She was upset," Arizona continued, no longer taking note of the hundred people in the room – only her memory, and only Callie. "And I had heard…" She paused, shaking her head. The jury didn't care about the 'Callie's bisexual!' gossip, so she attempted to focus on the heart of the story. "She was just…" She had a faraway look in her eyes. "_Beautiful_, and she was crying, and it broke my heart."

The sight of Callie upset and crying had always destroyed her – and always would – so Arizona knew that she would survive if (or _once_) Callie won. She wouldn't have to see her ex-wife cry, because Callie would have won and been happy.

Arizona knew that she would feel like a part of her was missing and like her heart was ripped from her chest, but she would at least know that Callie and Sofia would be healthy and happy. Ultimately, that was what mattered.

If she had to, Arizona knew she could survive Callie leaving and taking Sofia with her – for a short while. Arizona could be a good man in a storm and weather her pain. It wasn't fair, but she knew she might not have any other choice.

"Ms. Robbins?" the lawyer worked at grabbing her attention, and Arizona turned back to face her. She took that as a sign to continue: "Clearly, you have a history of being promiscuous, both then and now. Do you truly believe the child will be as safe and well-cared for as she would be with my client and her committed partner in New York? Do you-"

Arizona felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach but before she could recover or the woman could finish brutalizing her, she heard the cacophonous sound of four chair legs scraping against the marble floor of the courtroom.

"That's _enough_," Callie snarled. She was a patient woman, but there was only so much she could take before she snapped.

"Ms. Torres…" the judge warned.

"No," Callie interrupted, eyes fixed on her lawyer. "Don't you dare," Callie warned her. "Don't you dare accuse her of something she didn't do. Arizona wasn't 'promiscuous.' She was…kind. And I loved her more than I've ever loved anyone."

Across the room, Penny felt herself stiffen. So did Arizona. She had never felt as if she had meant anything more to Callie than everyone else she'd loved, but now…

"She's the reason we're talking about any of this in the first place," Callie continued. "She's the reason for Sofia, and she's a _good mother_," she insisted. "Whatever happens today, you _do not_ get to call that into question."

Behind her, the bobby pin April had been holding in her hand fell to the floor, and the whole room heard it in the echoing silence.

Callie and her lawyer seemed to be having a silent conversation and, ultimately, Callie seemed to win.

Surrendering, the woman turned back to Arizona. "Fine. We'll move on. Final question, and let's hear the whole truth." She paused for emphasis. "Why do you feel that you are accounting for Sofia's well-being by fighting to keep her here with you?"

Arizona didn't answer right away. She was someone who preferred to remain guarded, quiet, and ultimately, _safe_. This question, however, wasn't safe. And the whole truth wouldn't allow her to maintain her privacy. Even still, it she had to take a risk. For Sofia.

"By wanting Sofia to keep Sofia here, I'm not saying that her well-being is best looked after by only me," Arizona began.

Curiously, Callie watched her, waiting for further explanation.

Arizona's eyes shot to Callie's. "Our daughter should be with both of us," she maintained. "I think…Sofia would be happiest if Callie – her other mother – stayed in Seattle, but I don't have any say in that. If she wants to go away and be happy with her girlfriend, then it's not my place to stop her." She swallowed. "Not anymore."

The lawyer nodded – seemingly thoughtfully, but Arizona sensed it was an act. The woman was really preparing her next attack, like the sly, vicious snake she was.

"Kids weren't a part of my dream. Not originally." Arizona continued, gaze still on her ex-wife. "My dream was only Callie. But then I left, and Callie got pregnant. And then I heard Sofia's heartbeat for the first time, and I fell in love. She was my daughter from that very moment and, ever since then, I've put her first." She remembered, "I made Callie stop drinking caffeine during her pregnancy, and I insisted that Sofia not be delivered early, even knowing that put my true love at higher risk of dying."

Callie felt her heart skip a beat. She hadn't known about that.

"_I'm_ Sofia's mother," Arizona maintained. "Her father once called me 'nothing,' and I know that – biologically – we're not related. But I'm her mother, and she knows it."

"But my client is her mother, too," the lawyer reminded her. "And, in New York, Sofia will be with Ms. Torres _and_ with Ms. Blake, who both adore her."

Frowning, Arizona waited to hear the woman's point. So did Callie.

"I'm just wondering if you want Sofia to stay for her well-being, or if it's really for your own."

"Look," Arizona began. "I might be a bad with relationships: I cheated on my wife, I was awful to her, and she stopped loving me. And – while I once said that she and Sofia were all I needed – I know now that's not true."

Callie's head snapped up at the memory and, from that moment forward, all she saw was Arizona. Nothing and no one else.

"Callie left, and I'm still here. She has a girlfriend, and I'm okay." Arizona bit back her tears. "And I need to be with Sofia in the same way that every other mother needs to be with her child: because that's how it's supposed to be…But I'm not fighting for this just because I need her." She swallowed hard, forcing herself to finish her thought.

"She needs me. Callie's her mommy, but I'm her momma. And she needs me."

She turned to face Callie, nodding for emphasis. "_She needs me_."

Callie's head bobbed once – almost imperceptibly – but Arizona easily read her ex-wife's silent understanding.

_You're right_, Callie was saying. _She needs you, too_.


	133. Chapter 133

**Hi. Written after 12x17. Set after the storm (and by that I mean the custody battle). #WalkTallCalzona**

**Leave me reviews! Thanks!**

* * *

Arizona opened the front door to her house and, with wide eyes, she breathed, "Callie…"

Because there she was: her ex-wife and the love of her life, standing on her doorstep, nervously biting her bottom lip, her big brown orbs locking with Arizona's eyes.

Just hours before, Callie had left. She had said goodbye to Sofia (though she'd promised to visit the following week) and driven to the airport with Penny.

She had made the mistake of not following after Arizona once, and she hadn't wanted to make the same mistake with her current girlfriend. So she had decided to move to New York, both to be with Penny and to further her prosthesis research at the 'Hospital for Special Surgery' – the best hospital for orthopedics in the entire state. She had opted to move, and she (and Arizona) had decided to keep Sofia in Seattle, home and surrounded by so many people who loved her.

But, now, with her _ex_-girlfriend's plane well on its way to John F. Kennedy International Airport, Callie stood on the doorstep of her stunned ex-wife.

Because, on her way to that terminal, Callie had realized that she couldn't leave. Or, well, she didn't want to.

Over the course of the past decade, her dreams had changed continuously. First, she had wanted a life and lots of babies with George O'Malley, which – in retrospect – was just so, so wrong. And then she'd met Arizona. And, all at once, rainbows and butterflies had _delighted _her badass self, and she'd seen herself dancing down the aisle with the woman who had waltzed into that bar bathroom and then into her every thought.

They had walked tall. Together. But then had come the plane crash, and that had taken off at least a foot. Then there had been the miscarriage; that had shaved off a few inches. And then Arizona had cheated – practically cutting her into two.

She had gotten shorter – so short that she hadn't been able to recognize herself. Or Arizona.

And so she had left what had once been her dream – a life with the woman she loved – in search of a new one; one that hopefully would never turn into a nightmare.

And so she had searched, and she had found Penny. And Penny was great, and Callie was thankful for her, but…

A life with Penny wasn't Callie's dream. Her dream, she realized, was still – was always – Arizona.

Finding her voice, Arizona finally managed to speak: "Callie…?" she repeated. "Where's Blake? Did you miss your flight? Do you need me to…" she rambled on. "What are you- why are you…"

Her eyes locked to pink, moving lips, Callie could only murmur: "Arizona."

Arizona's eyes shot up, her heart taking off at the sound of Callie's low, hoarse voice. She forced herself to slow down, softly querying, "What do you want?"

And Callie couldn't speak. She couldn't focus on anything but the lips of her dream. And she was unable to hold back any longer, not when it was suddenly so clear to her what and whom she wanted.

"This," she exhaled, stepping into the blonde's space in one fluid motion.

As Arizona's breath caught in her throat, Callie pressed their plump lips together, cupping damask cheeks with all the surety and softness in the world.

Two sets of eyes instinctively fluttered closed, and Callie pushed herself up and against Arizona's unmoving body. She hoped, perhaps foolishly, that the kiss would let her ex-wife know what she felt: that Arizona was her dream, the woman she loved, and the only person she ever saw cheering beside her.

And it seemed to because, soon, Arizona's body responded, as her soft palms found Callie's scapula and pulled their bodies impossibly closer. At that, Callie's lips parted in surprise, and the blonde immediately look advantage – sliding her tongue against her ex-wife's and almost moaning at how unbelievably _good_ she still tasted (Callie had always tasted _so_ good)…

It was Arizona who came back to reality first. She pulled her face away and released her hold on Callie, a little, but she didn't pull away entirely; her palms found their way to a supple waist.

Finally, the woman Arizona loved was in her hands, in her space, at her house, inhaling _her_ air, and she couldn't just let go of her – despite the confusion she felt. "What are you doing?" she beseeched, a part of her doubting that Callie even knew the answer.

But she did. She hadn't kissed Arizona out of loneliness or reassurance, but out of complete and utter certainty.

She wanted Arizona. All of Arizona. Morning, noon, and night. From one end of the Earth to the other. In good times and bad. Arizona was the one – the only – person with whom she wanted to dance, cheer, and spend the rest of her life. She was certain of it.

"I love you," Callie vowed, not ignorant to the way Arizona's breath hitched in a silent sob.

"And I tried not to," she continued. "I tried to convince myself to create a dream with Pen-…with someone who wasn't you, but…I couldn't."

Arizona felt her heart beat impossibly faster in her chest cavity, her ears ringing in her stupefied silence.

"All I could think about is how, for as long as I've known you, a life with you has always been my dream." She shook her head, unable to verbalize how entirely she truly loved the woman in front of her. Not in that moment, anyway.

"And then I realized: with you, I never had to convince myself of my feelings, because my love for you was real. I've always been _so_ in love with you, and still, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Arizona's felt like her mouth was made of chalk, even as she pressed, "You do?"

Slowly, Callie's lips curled up into a genuine smile. "Yeah. I do."


	134. Chapter 134

**For You Are Mine...**

* * *

**Set once they're back together! Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Arizona couldn't sleep—not even close. Not with the raven-haired sleeping beauty lying beside her for the first time in years. That night, their trust, love, and devotion had come to a head and both women felt happier and more in love than ever before.

In fact, Callie had felt so secure and comfortable with the woman she loved that she'd fallen asleep within minutes of their amorous lovemaking. Arizona, on the other hand, couldn't sleep, and it wasn't because she felt insecure or uncomfortable; that wasn't it in the slightest. Instead, it was purely due to the fact that she was so entirely overcome with love for the other woman and with unalloyed gratitude for their loving reconciliation.

Callie had always been the love of her life—that Arizona knew. All her previous concerns had dissolved with Callie: about dating a 'newborn,' about beginning a family, and about sharing herself with another person —not just body—but mind and soul. Callie had changed her from the start, and she had changed Callie; they had complemented each other, balancing out each other like a scale and two perfect counterparts.

That had been before, and then there had been the after: divorce anger, hurt, efforts to move forward, and feigned indifference.

The after had been painful, but it had also been a time of growth. Both Callie and Arizona had grown on their own and, ultimately, that growth had brought them to where they were then:

Blissfully happy. Committed. Well aware of the tough times ahead, and determined to work together to overcome obstacles no matter what. They chose to be together once and for all, and they swore to make that choice, again and again, every day for the rest of their lives. To love each other even when they hated each other. To fight when faced with challenges. Not to run.

And all Arizona could think of as she watched Callie sleep—bright eyes shut, plump lips parted, and black hair splayed everywhere—is how entirely she loved her.

She loved her, she loved her, she loved her, and she vowed to cherish, protect, and take care of her for the rest of their lives—in the same way, she knew, that Callie vowed to do the same.

She reached out, tracing Callie's soft features with reverent, allaying fingers. Only that night had her hands finally stopped shaking from all the days she'd spent trying to not want her. At last, she could touch, hold, and love Callie freely. Now, her hands were finally still and sure, her thumb brushing the smooth caramel cheek of the woman she loved and the woman who loved _her_.

Sensing the gentle touch—even in sleep—Callie stirred, stretching out her arms and opening her tired eyes. And, as soon as she did, she noticed Arizona's intense, contemplative blues perusing her face.

"Were you watching me sleep?" she growled, her voice low and rough—and a little grumpy—with sleepiness.

Arizona chuckled. "I was," she admitted.

Callie pouted out her lower lip but, really, she didn't mind. She was in bed with the love of her life and—for the moment—nothing else mattered. "Why?"

"Because I like you," Arizona teased, leaning in to plant a tender kiss on delicious-looking lips. "And love you," she added. "And find you miraculous." Kiss. "Breathtakingly stunning." Kiss. "And I can't stop looking at you." Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.

Blushing, Callie smiled into the kiss, feeling Arizona immediately match her grin. Beneath the blankets, she brought her palm to a warm white hip and pulled the blonde against her. With their curves melding together, their abdomens grazing and breasts rubbing, she felt Arizona's sweet breath shudder against her mouth.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," she whispered, her healing hands ghosting up Callie's side.

"I'm not," Callie breathed, pressing her lips to Arizona's cheek and reveling in how grateful she was to have her in her arms again at last. She savored the way they orbited each other, like forces of nature. When she pulled back, Arizona leaned forward; when she felt weak, Arizona was strong; when she needed, Arizona provided. Infinitely, and vice versa.

Eventually (and regretfully), she pulled back enough to really look at Arizona. Bringing her hand up, she tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear, not wanting anything to obstruct her view of the beautiful woman with whom she was certain she would spend the rest of her life. Indulgently, she explored smooth ivory skin, swollen pink lips, and those eyes that managed to look directly into her.

"I love you," she exhaled, running her fingers through feathery blonde strands.

Arizona dimpled, grabbing Callie's hand and pulling in order to encourage the taller woman to turn to face away from her.

Receptively making sense of the blonde's silent request, Callie turned to the opposite side, regretting the sudden lack of body heat. But, soon, Arizona wrapped her body around Callie's. She encased her in a warm, safe embrace, wrapping her arm around a curvaceous stomach to pull the woman she loved impossibly closer.

Callie reached for Arizona's hand, entwining their fingers for that additional connection. She released a pleased sigh, closing her eyes in relaxed contentment.

As she closed her eyes, Arizona brushed her lips against the nape of Callie's neck in one light, shiver-inducing kiss.

A few minutes later, on the verge of sleep, Callie managed to vocalize her truth. "I'm glad we're back where we're supposed to be: together."

Sleepily, Arizona hummed her agreement. "Me, too."

They were together. _At last_.


	135. Chapter 135

**Love Is...**

* * *

A fic by the wonderful / incredible / talented / amazing / extraordinary thezencalzona (thezenparadox) and me! Written after 12x20.

* * *

**Summary**: Callie and Arizona go toe-to-toe to fight for their daughter and their future.

**Note**: Neither of us are lawyers, so we took some license and played fast and loose with the law words.

* * *

After a brutal day in the courtroom, Richard was eager to drive home, take a hot shower, make a nice dinner, and hug his wife; after the day he had, he was particularly thankful for her and their happiness.

On his way towards the courthouse's double-doored exit, however, he paused when he came across Callie's well-dressed concourse of lawyers. They were huddled together, arms crossed and heels clacking impatiently on the marble floor, discussing an urgent matter.

He pretended to sip water from the water fountain a few feet away but, really, he was astutely listening to their hushed conversation.

"So what do we do?" one of the lawyers questioned her team, rubbing her hand over her face in exhaustion. "How can we win this?"

"That doctor revealed he was her wingman," one of her colleagues began. "We can use that."

"_Right_," another agreed. "Absolutely. Utilizing a wingman implies a pattern of random hook ups. So we go after her love life. We show that she's sexually promiscuous and therefore unfit to care for Sofia. Judge Rickover is such a prude. She will immediately side with Dr. Torres, who's in a stable relationship, not out picking up random women in bars. It's _just _what we need to win."

The female lawyer cringed. As much as she wanted a successful outcome and to maintain her nearly perfect winning percentage, she _knew _that line of defense was a ruthless low blow. Still, it was a way to undoubtedly win the case. "Dr. Torres would hate that."

"She hired us to win this case and, in my judgement, this is the only way." The other lawyer shook his head. "It's our only option. I can feel Judge Rickover leaning toward opposition. Can't you?"

A sigh. "Yes."

"Okay then," her partner confirmed. "Let's prepare to destroy Dr. Robbins."

With that settled, the lawyers walked away without hesitation, leaving a stunned Richard Webber in their wake.

He shook himself out of his stupor and raced down the courtroom steps. He had to do something. They were going to use his words to destroy his friend, and he just couldn't allow that to happen.

* * *

Catherine pulled the decorative pillows off the bed she shared with her husband. "No, Richard, you can't say anything," she maintained. "That would be meddling, and you and I made an agreement!" She pulled down their comforter then plodded into the ensuite bathroom to hang up her robe.

"That agreement was made in regards to Jackson and April and _their _problems," Richard countered. Then, under his breath, he grumbled, "And it was meant mostly for you."

"I heard that!" Catherine snapped, walking back into the bedroom. "You will not speak to either of them. This is their fight, not yours. Now: promise me, baby. No meddling."

"I promise," Richard acquiesced, but with an unspoken caveat. "I won't say a word to either of _them_."

* * *

"Grey!" Richard whisper-hissed from a few tables away. "Grey!"

Meredith—who had been headed towards Maggie—turned in circles, searching for the owner of the eerie voice calling her name.

"Grey!" he repeated.

Finally, Meredith spotted Richard, who immediately checked his surroundings in paranoia then waved her over.

With furrowed brows, Meredith headed towards the older surgeon. "Webber…?"

"Sit," he directed, pulling out a chair by means of encouragement.

Hesitantly, she sat down, blue eyes wide and questioning. "Can I...help you with something?"

"There he is!" Richard exclaimed, distracted. "Karev!" He waved towards the pediatric surgeon, and Alex immediately headed over.

"Dude, you paged me to the cafeteria? What's going on?"

"Sit," Richard instructed. "I'm about to tell you."

With an impatient huff—he was a doctor who had lives to save, after all—Alex sat down, silently searching Meredith's face for answers.

The woman just shrugged, turning back to Richard. "What's going on?" Her tone suggested amusement but, really, she was a little worried about what had caused the former chief to act so strangely.

Solemnly, Richard finally began. "I need your help."

Alex reached across the small, circular table to grab a few of Meredith's french fries before she could swat his hand away. "With what?" he asked, full-mouthed.

"Robbins and Torres," he explained, pausing when Alex and Meredith immediately began shaking their heads, already unwilling to help. Voice raising, he defended: "Hey, I know we said we wouldn't get involved for _their _sake, but that was before."

"Before what?" Meredith questioned.

"Before Torres's lawyers heard my testimony and decided that Robbins is 'promiscuous' and a bad mother."

Meredith's eyes bulged. "Whoa." She and Arizona weren't close friends, but—as a fellow parent—she couldn't deny how devastating (not to mention misogynistic) that court claim would be.

"Dude. You're kidding."

Gravely, Richard shook his head. "And I promised Catherine I wouldn't meddle," he continued. "But you two can. You need to come up with something to save them before it's too late."

"Why us?" Meredith asked.

"Because, Grey, you have kids…both biological and adoptive. You can relate to both women. "

"That doesn't mean I know how to fix a custody issue."

"I'm not saying you solve their problem. They just need a little push to solve it themselves. Again, I'm not meddling...But, maybe, you should try to get them to talk to each other. Force the issue, a little."

"If they knew how to solve it themselves, they wouldn't be in court," Alex countered.

"They just need to talk to each other. And to listen. They can come up with a solution. I'm sure of it."

Meredith sighed, "I don't know, Richard. I've been trying to stay firmly in Switzerland during in all this. I don't want to choose sides."

"No one said you had to choose sides," he assured her. "Just be neutral, and get them talking, somehow."

"But why am I even here?" Alex asked. "They're not going to listen to me. Nobody does."

"Because if you are going to get them into the same room together, there needs to be two of you."

Alex looked as though he were going to refuse, so Richard played his final card. "Okay, don't do it for Robbins or Torres, then. Do it for the kid. Do it for Sofia. I know you both don't want to see her get hurt, and if this ends badly in that courtroom, then that little girl is going to be the collateral damage."

With one final glare at his former boss, Alex grumbled, "_Fine_." He would do it for Sofia.

"Meredith relented, too. "Okay. We'll do it for Sofia."

* * *

Alex turned to face his friend. "You ready for this?"

"We're doing it for Sofia," Meredith reminded them both. "And because I don't want my kids to not see their friend for a year. It'll help."

"_Maybe_," Alex argued. "It might make everything worse."

Meredith shrugged. "It might make everything better," she maintained. The optimism felt odd, given her generally dark-and-twisty demeanor. Still, she couldn't help but feel that, somehow, Callie and Arizona would be able to work out the situation and remain friendly. The two women had, after all, gotten married on the same day that she herself had married Derek. Somehow, that meant something, and it gave her hope.

"Okay," Alex sighed. "I'm rounding up Robbins, and you're paging Torres, right?"

Meredith nodded. "Let's do it."

* * *

Callie looked at her pager again. It definitely said '911 - B24,' which meant that Meredith was paging her to the basement—specifically, to the old storage room that she lived in as a resident.

Callie pushed through the door, leaving it to swing closed behind her. Her eyes roamed the once-familiar room. Once upon a time, she had filled it with everything she owned. Years later, though, it contained only boxes and old waiting room chairs with the S.G.M.W. logo on them.

And, sitting in one of those chairs, attention trained on her phone, was her friend. Well, Callie supposed she could still call Meredith her 'friend,' even after she'd refused to testify on either her or Arizona's behalf.

Perhaps, she'd paged her there to talk, Callie guessed.

"Meredith?"

Meredith shot off a quick text to Alex, letting him know that Callie was in place. Then, she looked up, acknowledging the perplexed brunette.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?" Callie searched the room, looking for a clue as to why Meredith had paged her there, of all places. "Why are we in the basement?"

"That's a really good question," Meredith replied. One she probably should have thought of an answer for before paging Callie. "I uh…needed some space, and I…wanted to chat."

"With me?"

"Of course with you. Why wouldn't I want to chat with you?"

"Because I'm the bad guy," Callie sighed. "I'm the one leaving.'

"No one thinks you're the bad guy."

"Right," she chucked darkly. "_Everyone_ thinks I'm the bad guy."

"It's a tough situation," Meredith sympathized. "Custody always is. There are no easy choices, and there are no bad guys. That's what makes it so hard."

Callie made a face. "'Hard' is an understatement."

"But everything in life worth having is hard. If it all came easy…" Meredith sighed. "Part of why we became surgeons was because it was so hard. We thrive on a challenge."

"Well, for once, I wanted something to be easy."

Meredith shrugged, offering a small smile. "Easy's boring, Callie."

* * *

"Alex, where are we going?" Arizona demanded, following him down the basement corridor.

"To this room, right up here," Alex pointed ahead to closed door down the hall. "It's where your ex-wife used to live when she was squatting at the hospital."

"Gross."

"What? You knew she lived here, right?"

"Yes, but I hate that word. 'Squatting.'" Arizona's face twisted with mild distaste and then, as something else dawned on her, even more distaste. "Eww, is this where you had sex with her?"

"Dude, you aren't even married anymore. Why do you care?"

"I don't," Arizona snapped back. "I don't care. Not at all. It's just…still weird."

"Whatever." Alex rolled his eyes. She and Callie exhausted him.

He stopped just in front of the door and looked at Arizona. "Sorry," he apologized in advance, then pushed open the door and ushered her in.

Callie and Meredith both jumped to stand at the sudden entrance.

"Arizona?" Callie's eyebrows flew up. "What…?"

But Arizona had no answer for Callie; she was equally as confused. What were Callie and Meredith doing there?

Callie turned to Meredith, taking in her clearly guilty expression.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here?" Arizona demanded.

Meredith moved around her, ambling toward the door to stand beside Alex. She pointed between the two women. "You need to talk."

"There's nothing for us to say!" Arizona vowed. "Our lawyers…"

"We have to be in court in two hours…" Callie blurted, talking over Arizona.

Alex held up his hands, stopping them from advancing towards the door. "Your _lawyers_ don't know your kid. You do. You both do."

"You need to talk to each other," Meredith added. "Work this out. Alex is right, you are the only two people who should be deciding what's best for Sofia. That judge, and certainly not your lawyers, doesn't know anything about what either of you have been through. Together or separately, and they can't possibly know Sofia better than you do."

"You're kidding." "You can't make us…"

"Yeah, we can," Alex insisted.

Meredith held up the key to the room, assuring them, "We'll be back in an hour."

"Meredith, this is crazy! You can't lock us in here! That's ridiculous."

"I can, and I will," she insisted. "Talk." She gave them each an authoritative, stern look before she turned to go. "We'll be back in an hour."

"Figure out your crap," Alex commanded as they stepped out, leaving Callie and Arizona stuck together inside.

Immediately, both Callie and Arizona raced for the door, but they stopped short when they heard the lock sliding into place.

Their 'friends' had locked them in a dismal room together, forcing them to talk to each other.

It was going to be one _long _hour.

* * *

It felt as if days had passed, and yet, still, neither woman had spoken, each waiting for the other to crack first.

Finally, unable to bear the deafening silence for another second, Callie turned to face Arizona. The blonde hadn't moved even an inch, her eyes closed in either pain or fury. Perhaps both.

Desperate to trigger _some _sort of response from the blonde, Callie finally made an offer of peace. "I can't believe this. Can you believe them?" She knew she couldn't be alone in hating the position in which they found themselves. After all, they were locked in what had turned into a storage closet.

Arizona turned to look at Callie, asserting, "My lawyer advised me not to talk to you."

Callie's eyebrows flew up, her face reddening in sudden anger. "So now you're not even speaking to me?"

Arizona pursed her lips, offering no further explanation. She walked towards the chair Meredith had just vacated and sat down, stubbornly crossing her arms. She acknowledged that she only had any chance of winning the case if she followed her lawyer's orders, so quiet she remained.

"I can't believe you." Callie shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe what you're doing to us, to Sofi-"

At that, Arizona exploded. "I'm doing this _for _Sofia!" How dare Callie claim she was somehow hurting Sofia by fighting for her.

"_This_ is what's best for Sofia. _Right_," Callie sneered.

"Callie, you and I might not be equal partners, anymore," Arizona reminded her ex-wife, and Callie inwardly cringed at memories of the sudden and total collapse of their marriage. "But we'll always be equal parents, and I won't let you make all the decisions. Not anymore."

"Arizona…" Callie rolled her eyes. "We've always been equal parents." She'd established that Arizona was an equal mother to Sofia long ago. Her place in their daughter's life had never been in question.

"I _know _that! I'm talking about the decision _you _made to move Sofia to New York. You decided that on your own, without even considering my feelings."

"I just assumed…" Callie began.

"You assumed I would let you!" Arizona exclaimed. "Clearly! But I'm not letting you. I won't."

She couldn't. As a mother, she'd discovered that overwhelming, innate _need _to be with her daughter unconditionally. From the second Arizona had heard her tiny heartbeat, she had been enchanted and, from the second Sofia was born, she'd only felt truly complete in her little girl's presence.

In fact, if she were able, Arizona would have sown their bodies together to protect and snuggle Sofia for all of eternity. And she knew Callie felt the exact same way. And, obviously, that was a blessing, but it also meant a bloodless battle for physical custody.

Callie released an impatient sigh. She didn't want to listen to Arizona's petulant cries. She might have jumped the gun initially, but _she _hadn't been the one to hire a lawyer.

She was tired of being blamed. "I _assumed_," Callie repeated pointedly. "You would agree."

"I don't."

Callie chuckled sarcastically. "Oh, really? I had no idea!"

Arizona sucked in her cheeks. It was one thing for Callie to yell, but it was another thing for Callie to belittle her feelings entirely. All day—all month, really—she had been overcome with her bubbling, boiling anger. And, sometimes, that anger made her scream. Other times—when it became too much and gave way to only hurt—it rendered her silent.

As it had in that moment.

Callie's regretful exhale rang loudly in the quiet. Sarcasm had never boded well with Arizona. "Sorry," she grumbled.

Arizona shook her head as if indifferent, and, adamantly, she forbid her wet tears from falling. She couldn't bear to lose any more credibility.

Instead, she held onto her safetynet of anger. Her voice raised in pitch in volume, and she couldn't help but think about how her mother had always described her father: _Sweetheart, he fights when he's frightened_. Indeed The Colonel had, and now, twenty-five years later, so did she. Unlike her father, however, all that fighting made her frightful. It made her feel sick.

It was all just fear on fear on fear.

"What I was _saying_," she barked, burying the fear, "Is that _you _made the decision for _our _daughter to move with you and Penny. Without me. As if I'm _nothing_." Just as Mark had once claimed.

"You're not nothing," Callie vowed, working hard to keep her voice pleasant. "I just thought-"

"You thought—ignorantly, by the way!—that I wouldn't fight you on it. _Ignorantly_, you thought I wouldn't care if you took _our _daughter to the opposite side of the country to move in with you and your girlfriend! You thought you could bully me."

"I'm not a bully!" Callie insisted. "You-"

"A little bit, you are!" Arizona stood up, needing to gain a semblance of strength. Though Callie still had the height advantage, standing certainly made her feel more powerful. "Look at everything you're doing, just to have your happy ending."

Callie crossed her arms. "So now, after everything, you don't think I deserve a happy ending?"

"Not at the cost of mine."

"I'm sure it feels great to pretend that I'm the bad guy in all this, Arizona. But, in case you've forgotten, I'm her mother, too. And, if I don't win this, I'll lose just as much as you. More, actually."

As her anger multiplied, Arizona stepped forward and into Callie's space. "Oh, I get it, now," she mocked. "You never loved me. Not enough. Because you _never _fought this hard to be with me."

And, in her mind, Callie hadn't. When their marriage had gotten hard, Callie had walked away without one look back; she'd just left. She had promised not to leave, she had promised not to run, but she had. And now, there she was, not even married to Penny and willing to destroy their relationship as pleasant ex-wives just to remain in a romantic partnership with the resident.

"Don't you dare imply I never fought for you! I fought so hard that it destroyed our marriage!" Callie countered.

And, yeah, she had made the choice to leave that counselor's office, but Arizona hadn't followed after her. Arizona had never sought her out to tell her she missed her, or loved her, or wanted another chance. Instead, she had first cheated, and then she had _allowed _Callie to walk away. "Besides, it's not like you fought for me or followed me. Maybe I wanted you to fight."

"I couldn't!" Arizona defended. "I couldn't fight! It took everything I had back then just to exist, and breathe, and function, and now, you're taking advantage of that!"

"I can't believe this! You think…"

At that point, Arizona was on fire, and there was no stifling the flame. "We're talking about you. Y_ou_ think you know, but you don't. You still think you can make the decisions, like you did after the plane crash."

As she prepared to continue, she felt her breath hitch with sudden vulnerability. "And…after I cheated…I felt like it wasn't my place. I let you decide everything because I'd hurt you so much that I felt like I owed you. But we're in different places now, Callie. _I'm _different. I finally, _finally _found myself, again. I finally learned how to fight, again. And I'm not going to stop and sacrifice everything I gained. As Sofia's mom, I'm going to fight for my right to keep her with me."

"That's _exactly _what I'm doing," Callie hissed. "I'm fighting for her. To come with us."

"I know you are!" Of course Arizona knew. That was the reason they were even standing there, after all. Callie wanted Sofia to stay with her, even if that meant uprooting her entire life and taking her away from her other mother. "Trust me, I know. What I'm saying is that, in the process of making all these decisions about _our _daughter, you were _silencing _me. You were bullying me into being small. Maybe you wanted me to go back to surrendering to your every decision and not fighting for what I believe, but I'm saying I won't do that. If I do, I'll lose myself all over again."

Callie sighed, conceding "Arizona, I don't want you to go backwards. And I'm not trying to silence you…"

"Did you ever think of me in any of this? About how I would feel? How hard it would be for me if you took our daughter?"

"Of course I thought about how you would feel!" Callie defended.

"So...what? You just didn't care?" Arizona asked, genuinely curious. "Because you said…you said I could fly out there anytime, and—I know I've flown since the crash—but...you _know_ me. Did you ever even consider how hard it is for me to get on a plane?"

At that, Callie's voice and expression softened even more. "Arizona..."

Arizona shook her head, instantly resentful of the pity echoing her ex-wife's voice. "No. You know what? _Don't_. Don't feel sorry for me. I would do anything for Sofia, including getting on a plane every day, but I shouldn't _have _to. This is her home. Not New York. _Seattle_ is her home. Mark is buried here. All her friends are here. I mean, this hospital has her name on it, Callie."

Callie had to swallow the pain lodged in the back of her throat. Still, she attempted to keep her tone hard. "Being immersed in another environment will be a great experience for her. How can you not see that? And, as you know, _it's only for a year_."

Arizona's jaw set as, again, Callie reminded her of what that 'year' would entail. "It's 'only a year' spent developing a relationship with someone who isn't me. It's 'a year' spent with Penny reading with her, playing with her, dancing with her...It's a year spent _replacing _me!" She could hardly bear to think about it, the thought was so maddening.

Arizona's renewed ire had stoked Callie's flame, again, too. "So now we get down to it," she voiced knowingly. "This is jealousy, Arizona. Plain and simple. And it's just a reminder of what I always knew."

Arizona raised an eyebrow in contempt. "And what's that?" she demanded. "That I'm jealous? Can you blame me? I'm being replaced by your resident girlfriend."

"_NO_!" Callie countered. "It reminds me that you don't give a rat's ass about my happiness. You only care about yourself." Needing space, she attempted to push past Arizona, towards the chairs, but the blonde pushed back. Hard.

"Oh, really? Really? I only care about myself? Is that why I kept encouraging you to work things out with her, even if that meant Grey-Sloan losing one of the best Ortho surgeons in the country? And Sofia only getting to see you on holidays and school vacations? Because I'm pretty sure that counts as me 'caring' about your happiness."

"Oh, _riiight_," Callie fought in a stream of invective. "You taking me to court _really _counts as you caring."

"I have to put Sofia's happiness first," Arizona hissed. "And _she_'ll be happiest in her home. Not across the country. Not with a bunch of sudden changes."

"She'll be _fine_!" Callie opined. "Just like you were, with all the moving you did wh-"

Arizona scoffed. "My _whole family _moved. I was never dragged across the country to live in some high-rise with just one of my parents. We moved _as a family_, and it was for my dad's job. He had a responsibility to this country and wasn't chasing some-"

All at once, she fell silent. Oops.

Callie cocked her head, challenging her ex-wife to finish her thought. "What was that?"

Arizona pursed her lips, insistent to remain silent. _Shoot_.

"'Chasing' what?" Callie demanded an answer, guts scalded.

Arizona sighed, finally giving in. "You're chasing a resident you've been with for less than a year. And, given your track record…"

"What is _that _supposed to mean?"

Arizona shrugged helplessly. "I'd guess you're more in love with being in love than with her."

Callie rolled her eyes. "God, not this, again. The fact that you still question how I felt about yo-"

"I don't!" Arizona interrupted, murmuring, "You were in love with me. I know that. But then things got hard, and you left."

"Again, it's not like you fought for me to stay," Callie reminded her, masking her pain with blame.

"I _couldn't_!" Arizona maintained, so overcome with emotion that she slammed her hand down with such force that it caused the large box of supplies to shift precariously from its perfectly balanced position. Instantly, she regretted the action, as sharp pain stabbed her carpal bones. She ignored the ache, however, forcing herself to remain hardened and seemingly callous. "I couldn't, then. But I can fight for what I want, now. Which is for Sofia to stay!"

Ignoring Arizona's wince of pain, Callie countered "Fine! You 'couldn't' then! But now it's my turn to not be able to do something. I can't be apart from my daughter, and _I_ can't stay here!"

"Why? Why?" Arizona demanded, stalking forward as she continued to ignore her wristpain. She would have willingly endured any physical agony if it meant feeling any better internally.

Callie stepped towards her in response, refusing to give her ex-wife the satisfaction of scaring her off. Suddenly, she was in Arizona's space, in her face, nearly jabbing her in the chest. "Because of you! Because, if I want to be happy, I can't see you!"

"Oh, really? And why's that?" Arizona pressed, pushing right back. "What, you can't be stuck in the same city as me, now?"

"Frankly, I can't!"

"Well, I'm sorry it's such a hardship be around me. I didn't realize you still _hated_ me so much."

"Hate you?" Callie jeered. "Arizona, come on, d-"

"Why else—_How_ else—could you take my baby away?" Arizona's brow furrowed in genuine confusion, her anger compounded with hurt.

Then, she came to a realization. "I can't believe it. You...you never forgave me." Her breath caught in her throat as the ugly truth dawned on her. "You actually hate me."

"I don't hate you!" Callie vowed. "I'm just trying not to make the same mistakes again! I didn't go to Africa when you won, but this time-"

"This time, you're getting me back by running off with _our daughter_?" Arizona fought. "Oh, just admit it. You wanted to hurt me!"

"No, _you _wanted to hurt me! Again!" She shook her head, overcome with what felt like passionate loathing for her ex-wife.

Arizona rolled her eyes. "Oh, right. This, again! I'm the selfish one, and you're always _so _perfect, right?"

"That's not what I said!"

"It's what you think!"

And, suddenly, Callie was in Arizona's face, close enough to bite her. "You're the most infuriating person I've ever met, you know that? You make me want t-"

"To what, Callie?" As angry as Callie was, Arizona easily matched it. She saw only red and didn't even register that her body was pressed against the taller woman's, close as an embrace. "To have cheated on me back? To have never gotten back together after Africa? To have never even met me?"

"No!" Callie argued. "You jus—You just—You make me-" All at once, she was sputtering nonsensically, unable to function with Arizona invading her every sense. "You make everything so hard!"

"So, I ruined Seattle for you, then, and now you have to run away?" Arizona demanded.

"No! Don't you see? I can't be around you, because you make m-"

Callie stopped, unable to bring herself to finish.

Awaiting an explanation, Arizona searched Callie's eyes for answers. However, all that those chocolate browns reflected was confusion, desperation, and whole lot of fear.

But, still, underneath all of that unconcealable turmoil, she saw a reflection of her own repressed desire aching to surface: a desire that became particularly apparent when she finally noticed Callie's body heat, her hot chest heaving against her own.

Clearly, Callie felt it, too; and, suddenly, all her hardness diminished, fading into softness. She felt her heart pounding in anticipation as she made an implicit request. As if exhaling her final breath, she murmured, "Arizona…," begging the other woman to breathe life back into her and save her.

And so Arizona did.

Without allowing herself even a moment to consider _WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING_, Arizona grabbed Callie's cheeks, forcefully yanking the taller woman's face forward and against her own.

She captured full red lips in a passionate kiss, and Callie gasped at the sudden contact, feeling a shocking current of electricity run through her body. In response, she frantically grabbed narrow hips, feeling the warm, tissue-paper-thin skin beneath Arizona's silky blue blouse.

To Arizona's surprise, however, Callie didn't shove her back but, instead, pulled her impossibly closer, growling as she rapaciously gripped her thin shirt.

All at once, Callie was overwhelmed with the other woman: she was overcome by the sweet aroma of her shampoo, powder, and perfume, eclipsing the room's dusty scent; she screwed her eyes shut, feeling nothing but the softness of Arizona's body that starkly contrasted the harshness of her kiss.

And, even though Arizona had been the one to initiate it, she could hardly believe when Callie responded with equal urgency, their lips roughly smacking together, overlapping, their teeth clashing in their desperation.

They were on fire. Each woman suddenly felt laid bare, raw nerves and fragile hearts exposed.

Callie sucked on a fleshy bottom lip, feeling her temperature rise as Arizona's hot breath shuddered out against her skin, those seemingly dainty hands fiercely fisting her thick hair. She was intoxicated by the taste of Callie's lips and her rough, breath-stealing passion.

And, then, the rough force lessened, tension dwindling, as Callie's thumbs began tracing soothing circles against a soft abdomen. Finally, instead of pouring salt into her ex-wife's wounds, she silently healed them.

Arizona felt Callie's rage abate, her plump lips softening with sudden care, and the change made her head spin with dizziness. Her hands moved down to stroke the back of Callie's neck, and she felt her abdomen lurch—and something else throb—when Callie whimpered at the erogenous pleasure.

Their wet lips continued to glide against each other, devouring one another, until the need for air became too much and Arizona pulled back—just enough to gasp for air.

It was that act that broke the spell, however. Their eyes opened, hands falling to their sides, muscles growing tense, as they jumped back, realizing what they'd just done. They shivered in the cool air, already feeling the absence of each other's heat.

With flushed cheeks, racing hearts, and heavy breathing, their eyes remained locked even from several feet away: each woman desperately searching the other's eyes for an explanation or _some _sort of hint as to what she might be feeling.

Callie's face, normally so expressive, was unreadable.

Arizona, however, who was generally so guarded, was desperate—and it showed. Her eyes pleaded with her seemingly emotionless, stone-faced ex, begging for some sort of reaction.

Callie took a step backwards, needing to physically separate herself from the madness—and the woman—that consumed her. Arizona's eyes implored her for something she couldn't give; at least not in that moment.

Silently, Callie took another step back and the tiny bit of hope that lingered on Arizona's face disappeared entirely. She now wore an expression that Callie had only seen four times in all the years she'd known her, and all four times, she knew, _she'd _been the cause: once when she'd shut the door in Arizona's face when she'd come back from Africa, once when she told her she was pregnant Mark's baby, and twice when she'd walked out of therapists' offices—the latter occasion shattering her entirely.

Neither woman was aware of anything but each other until someone abruptly pushed open the door, breaking through the thick, palpable tension of the room. Callie and Arizona both looked down, breaking eye contact just as suddenly.

Meredith stepped through the door and directly into the path of all the uneasiness. It was stifling, and she immediately felt it. "Woah." She stopped in her tracks. "Are you two okay?"

Callie squared her shoulders, searching for inner strength. "Fine," she lied.

Arizona flicked her eyes towards Meredith briefly and nodded. Then, she refocused on the gray floor tiles at her feet.

"Your lawyers called. They've moved up the hearing. It starts in half an hour. You'll need to head out immediately, unless…Do you…still need to go?" Meredith asked, a hopeful lilt to her voice.

Callie looked to Arizona, who refused to look up, then back to Meredith. "I…um…"

"Yeah," Arizona finished, saving Callie from having to say it. "We do."

Swiftly and without a look back, she turned and left the room.

* * *

Even though they'd driven to the courthouse separately, Callie and Arizona arrived at the same time. And, with only one brief look at her ex-wife, Callie could immediately see that she'd shed some tears on the way over.

Her stomach churned at thought of everything that had just transpired between them. It had all been so confusing, and frustrating, and _infuriating_, and somehow, life affirming, too. Only Arizona had the ability to make her feel so human and _so much_.

Yet, even despite everything they'd unearthed the hour before, they were back in the courtroom, continuing their brutal battle against each other. Except, now, it hurt even more than before.

Penny must have noticed her melancholy, because she gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "Are you ready for this?"

Callie could only offer a terse half-nod in response but, in truth, she wasn't anywhere near being ready. After the day she'd had, even winning would feel like a loss.

Soon, their respective lawyers ushered them into the courtroom.

The proceedings were about to begin.

As they took their seats, Callie felt Arizona's eyes on her but refused to look back. She couldn't stand the confusion and misery on her ex-wife's face. And she really hated being the cause.

Arizona watched as Penny stood by her side, her hand firmly wrapped around Callie's arm, as the lawyers whispered a few finals words. Callie swallowed hard, resigned.

Penny stood on her toes to kiss her on the cheek and gave her arm one last squeeze of support; Callie felt the pressure against her skin but, somehow, it didn't register. She didn't look at her girlfriend even though, in theory, the initial fight had only begun due to her desire to follow Penny to New York. The only woman occupying Callie's thoughts in that moment, however, was Arizona.

The previous hour, she and Arizona had bared their souls to one another. For perhaps the first time ever, they had been entirely uninhibited and unmasked; they had spoken their truths, shared their pain and struggles, and revealed their raw desires. Sure, they had yelled and screamed hateful words at one another, Callie knew, but—somehow—it had still felt like healing.

After having forgotten for so long, Callie had finally been reminded of Arizona's extraordinarily passionate heart.

Watching Callie and Penny's interactions from the other side of the room, Arizona knew that _she _wanted to be the one who stood by Callie's side. _She _wanted to be the one who gave Callie support. _She _wanted to be the one who held Callie's arm and kissed her cheek. _She _wanted to be the one who offered up everything. For her.

But it was too late. She couldn't do any of that anymore.

There was one final thing she _could _do, though.

* * *

Arizona was called to testify first. She took a deep breath to steady herself, then, with feigned confidence, strode toward the chair where she'd sit to would bear witness to her love. She placed one foot in front of the other, focused on only ending her long nightmare.

Her hands shook and her voice cracked as she recited her oath to 'tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.' Then, she took the stand, her eyes fluttering closed in an attempt to mentally prepare herself for what she knew she had to do. She remained still, eyes shut, until she heard one of Callie's lawyers impatiently clear her throat.

When she opened her eyes a moment later, she was ready. She turned to the judge.

"I'd like to say something," she asserted. "If I may."

The judge gave her one terse nod in assent. "You may."

Arizona took in the grand courtroom, took in the faces of her loyal, concerned friends, of the malicious, conniving lawyers and, finally, of the woman she had known as well as her own skin and had loved even more fully.

Gulping with anxiety, Callie dolefully looked down at her hands, refusing to meet the focused blue eyes that burned her.

"Dr. Robbins," Judge Rickover prompted authoritatively. "We're ready whenever you are."

Arizona nodded, eyes unblinking, unmoving, unyielding. Only on Callie, in complete and utter cathexis, even as she informed the judge, "As much as I want Sofia to stay here with me, I'd like to withdraw my petition for primary physical custody."

Immediately, she heard the vocal surprise of her friends, her colleagues, and even her lawyer, but nothing registered except Callie's face, as those big brown eyes finally shot up to meet hers.

"And why is that, Dr. Robbins?" the judge pressed, suspicious of the sudden turn of events. After all, if her previous testimonies were any indication, the blonde was not someone who surrendered. She had been a fierce fighter, unwilling to back down and accept loss.

Arizona inhaled a sharp breath, deciding—once and for all—the choice she had to make: to love. Love: a conscious choice, act, and decision to care for someone and to nurture their spirit.

She choose to act on her transcendent, eternal feelings of love for Callie and to reinforce them with intentional selfless action: to ensure Callie's happiness. Even if it was at the cost of her own. Even if it was at the cost her time with her daughter. Even if it was at the cost of seeing the love of her life daily. And, ultimately, even if it was at the cost of herself and the self-respect she'd finally regained.

Over the course of the last few years, she had battled her trauma, her past, her mistakes, and her losses, and—finally—she had regained her ability to fight.

_Finally_, she had regained her ability to stand up for herself, to protect the people she loved, to be a good man in a storm, just as she'd been raised to be.

And, in that moment, she decided to sacrifice everything she'd gained. All of it. For the woman she loved.

Love empowered her to surrender.

She explored Callie's face, who remained still as a statue, even while everyone else shifted uncomfortably in their seats, impatiently waiting for further explanation.

In a hauntingly quiet voice—but one that easily reverberated through the silent room—Arizona began, "I want you to be happy, Calliope."

She paused, noting the way Callie visibly stiffened at the sound of her full name; then, behind her ex-wife, Arizona noted the way Penny's eyes widened at the veneration and devotion that must have been evident in her tone.

Mournfully, Arizona attempted to lift her lips as she continued, "So I'm going to make it easy for you. Go to New York with…" She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Penny, and Sofia, and be happy. I'll stay here and visit her when I can."

With every word of Arizona's solemn submission, Callie's eyes bulged wider and wider. After everything they'd discussed the hour before, she couldn't believe what Arizona was saying. She had made it clear that, _finally_, she had regained her ability to fight for who she loved, what she wanted, and what she deserved.

But, there she was, taking the stand and willingly surrendering.

Callie couldn't believe it.

"Go," Arizona smiled weakly, even as she felt wet, miserable tears pierce her eyes. "Be happy. I'll stop fighting. If that's what it takes for you to be happy, I'll stop. Take Sof. I'm done fighting."

Her eyes remained locked with Callie's, even as the conspiring lawyers huddled together, conversing about how to proceed in light of the propitious change.

One virago finally stood. "We'd like to file a motion to have the injunction keeping Sofia Torres in the state of Washington stuck down immediately."

The judge looked to Arizona's lawyers. "In light of your client's statement, would you like to withdraw your petition?"

Pulling herself from her staggering stupor, Callie shook her head. "No," she mouthed simply—too quietly for even her lawyers to hear.

"We…uh…we'd like a short recess to confer with our client."

"No," Callie vocalized again. This time, it was more assured, bordering defiance.

With her heart beating in her ears at her ex-wife's impassioned tone, Arizona gently maintained, "Callie, it's oka-"

"No!" Callie exclaimed, standing up, her eyes flitting between the judge, her lawyers, and Arizona.

"Dr. Torres," the judge chastised, needing her courtroom to maintain its decorum. "You-"

"No," Callie repeated. Suddenly, she spoke only to Arizona, as if they were the only two people in the room. She couldn't see anything or anyone else. "Please don't."

"Objection!" One of Callie's lawyers shouted.

"You can't object to your own client," Arizona's lawyer interjected. Then, to the judge's dismay, the courtroom erupted into a shouting match between the various attorneys.

The judge pounded her gavel, "Order in the court, order in the court. Everyone sit down and let Dr. Torres speak."

Everyone in the courtroom—including her girlfriend—had their eyes on Callie, waiting expectantly for her to speak. But, still, she only had eyes for Arizona.

The judge prompted: "Dr. Torres?"

Callie desperately swallowed down the bile that was creeping up her throat. With so many eyes on her, she felt her heartbeat speed up, suddenly rampant in her chest.

She wasn't sure if it were caused by all the sudden attention, or if it were a delayed reaction to the half-concealed misery she'd seen on Arizona's face when she'd promised to stop fighting?

"I made a promise," Callie croaked, unable to recognize even the sound of her own voice.

She cleared her throat, continuing, "A long time ago, I promised you that I wouldn't leave. That I wouldn't run. And I lost sight of that. I…broke that promise, but now..." She inhaled a sharp breath. "I intend to honor it."

"Callie..." Arizona breathed, already shaking her head in dissent. "You don't have to anymore. It's not your obligation to stay for me."

Callie offered a small smile. "I know," she whispered. "It's my choice."

Arizona furrowed her brows, clearly not understanding. "No…" she began, unsure. "I'm saying I'll stop fightin-"

"For me and for what you want," Callie interrupted. Because wasn't that what her ex-wife was doing? Arizona was selflessly letting her go, to 'be happy,' with their daughter and with another woman. She was offering to give up everything—even the strength within herself.

Arizona twisted her lips. "I...thought that was what you wanted."

"_No_," Callie exhaled, shaking her head as infinite tenderness and limitless love colored her gentle voice. "It's not," she maintained softly, a hint of a refulgent smile teasing her lips as she perused Arizona's overwhelming beauty. And, indeed, it wasn't. Not anymore.

Arizona waited, her heartbeat suddenly erratic in her chest. Her heart seemed to know what Callie was implying even before the rest of her. "What are you saying?"

Callie recognized Arizona had made the loving choice to let her go and be happy; in her heart, she knew it was the hardest choice the blonde had ever made.

And, with that in mind, Callie made an equally bold choice: to love and be happy.

"I'm saying I don't want you to ever stop fighting."

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

"I can't believe we're back here," Callie grumbled under her breath. "Same courthouse, same judge!"

"Hey, you're the reason we're here," Arizona argued. "It didn't have to be this way!"

"Please," Callie scoffed. "This time, it wasn't me. _You _started this."

"How did I start it?"

"Your refusal to stop fighting."

"Calliope, do not pin this on me. I believe _your _exact words were 'I don't want you to ever stop fighting.' So, see…it's your fault. Plus, you are directly responsible for us being here today."

Catching their friend's eye from a few feet away, Alex tilted his head up in greeting, offering a little smile.

Hardly acknowledging him, Callie's focus returned to Arizona. "You were the one who said yes!"

"True," Arizona surrendered, dimpling. "I would have been crazy not to. But I'm talking about the courthouse in particular. We could've had any type of wedding you wanted."

"Arizona…" Callie breathed. "All I need at our wedding is you standing next to me."

Arizona smirked. "It's going to be a good day for you, then, because I don't plan on being anywhere else."

They shared a private moment, grinning giddily at each other, until Alex interrupted, "You ready for this?"

"Ready!" Callie and Arizona affirmed, simultaneously reaching for each other's hand and intertwining their fingers.

Together, they stood in front of the judge—the one who, just the year before, had been set to make a ruling that could have separated them forever—to promise their future to each other.

Beyond the standard 'to love and to honor' vows, they made only two other promises: never to run and always to fight for each other.

They promised to choose each other that day and every day after.

And they did.

* * *

**If you read this all the way through, please let us know what you think! Reviews, however brief, are always, always appreciated. :)**


	136. Chapter 136

**Enantiodromia**

_Enantiodromia (Greek: ἐνάντιος): a principle introduced by psychiatrist Carl Jung that the superabundance of any force inevitably produces its opposite._

* * *

**Set post-12x23. Not speculation. I know the finale won't go this way. Just something hopeful.**

* * *

With the rain pouring outside, Arizona began throwing piles of laundry into the washing machine while she waited for Sofia to get ready for bed and pick out a book for them to read. She paused, however, when a little doll fell out of the pocket of her daughter's purple sweater.

Upon closer inspection, she immediately realized that it was the very same one Sofia had been eyeing at the toystore earlier that day—and the one Arizona had refused to buy.

"Sofia…" she began uneasily.

All ready for bed and entirely unsuspecting, Sofia skipped towards the sound of her mom's voice, then stopped short as soon as she saw her face and the doll in her hand. She felt her face bleach white.

"What's this?" Arizona's voice remained even—eerily so—and it made Sofia gulp, dreading the scolding that was inevitably coming.

And, instead of facing trouble, she opted to run. She turned around, rushing into the downstairs bathroom and slamming and locking the door behind her. "It's nothing!"

"Sofia!" Tossing the doll on the counter, Arizona hurried after her, unsuccessfully attempting to open the bathroom door. "Sofia, unlock this door," she demanded.

From her safe haven inside, fully-clothed in pajamas and sitting down in the dry bathtub, Sofia argued, "NO!"

She knew it was wrong to steal, but she didn't want to get in trouble. She wrapped her arms around her knees, feeling guilty wet tears stream down her cheeks.

Hearing the tears in her daughter's voice, Arizona worked at softening her tone. "Sofia, please. I'm not going to yell at you, but we need to talk about this." She couldn't believe that Sof actually had _stolen_ something. Her recent behavior definitely hadn't been as good as usual, and she had acted out here and there, but _stealing_? What the hell had gotten into her?

On the other side of the door, Sofia continued crying. "I don't want to!"

"It'll be okay," Arizona promised. "Come on, sweetie. Please unlock the door."

"No!" Sofia sassed.

Noting her Good Cop tactic was proving to be largely ineffectual, Arizona tried another approach. "Sofia Robbin!" she chided, even as she winced at the harshness of her tone. "Do _not_ speak to me that way. You know better. Come on, open the door. We need to talk."

"I'm not coming out!" Sofia crossed her arms. "Not unless Mama comes!"

Arizona's eyebrows shot up. That was the last thing she had expected to hear. Why would Sof want both her _and_ Callie to discipline her?

Even so, it was a lot to ask for. "Sweetie," Arizona sighed, "It's my night with you. I don't even know if Mama's home, and there's a storm outside." As if for emphasis, in that moment, the rain began falling even harder onto the roof above their heads.

Still, Sofia held strong on the other side of the door, not answering, not backing down from her demand, and certainly not unlocking the door.

Arizona exhaled an exhausted breath, running her hand through her hair. "Fine. I'll call her." She paused. "If she comes, you promise to come out so that we can talk about what you did?

"Yes, Mommy," she grumbled, almost inaudibly, enjoying the limited time she had left in the safety of the bathroom.

Arizona dialed the phone number she knew by heart, even though it pained her to do so. In truth, she didn't want to call Callie. She didn't even want to _see_ Callie. She wasn't quite done being angry.

But, regardless, in that moment, she _needed_ Callie. She needed Callie's help with their daughter, and so she put her own feelings aside and put Sofia's needs ahead of her own.

She talked civilly with her ex-wife, explaining the situation and exhaled a relieved breath when Callie immediately agreed to come over, get Sof out of the bathroom, and talk to her together.

"Please drive carefully," Arizona pleaded, easily picking up on Callie's haste and fury. "It's really storming out there."

Grabbing her keys and purse and stalking towards the door, Callie promised, "I will. See you soon."

As Arizona hung up the phone, she felt a sense of relief wash over her. Throughout her relationship with Callie, she'd always experienced strong feelings for her. For example, she had felt in love and blissfully happy one second, and then as if she hated Callie the next. It had happened after their first breakup, after the plane crash, after the divorce and, again, after that trial from hell.

For weeks, she had been overcome with that feeling of hatred, but in that moment, she felt it slowly dissipate.

Instead, she was filled with gratefulness—an emotion stemming from love.

Callie was coming over, and she was going to help get Sofia out of the locked bathroom, and then they were going to talk to her _together_.

"Sof?" Arizona began, tentatively rapping her knuckles against the wooden door. "Honey, please come out."

"I want Mama," the little girl maintained, her voice muffled, given the barrier between them.

"Fine," Arizona sighed. "Mama's coming. You can wait for her to get here, and then we're _both_ going to talk to you about that doll."

Sofia sniffled. Uh oh. "Are you going to yell at me?"

"No, sweetie, I'm not going to yell," Arizona vowed. She wouldn't, despite how much she may have wanted to.

A second later, the doorbell rang, and she hurried to let Callie in from the cold. "Mama's here!" she called behind her. "You can come out now!"

But, stubbornly, Sofia didn't move, unwilling to face whatever she might meet outside that safe haven.

"She won't come out," Arizona reiterated, the pads of her slippers echoing behind Callie's clacking boots.

"Well, she's about to," Callie growled under her breath, reaching the bathroom and immediately pounding on the door. "Sofia, it's time to come out!"

Wide eyed, Sof sensed her mother's fury. "I don't want to!"

"_SOFIA_! Mommy and I need to talk to you. Get your little butt out here!"

"Callie," Arizona chided, coming to stand beside her ex-wife. "I don't think yelling is going to solve anything."

"And, what, politely asking her to come out _will_?" Callie countered. "She's been locked in there for an hour, and you couldn't even get her to come out on her own!"

She knew she was being hot-headed and presenting her worst self, but she couldn't help it. She was hurt, she was angry, Arizona hurt and angry, and a part of Callie—a part that was perhaps larger than she cared to admit—was hurting over having hurt Arizona so much, and not being able to repair that.

So she was yelling. And, then, so was Arizona.

"I want her to trust us!" Arizona defended. "Obviously, if she's stealing, there's something more going on and—"

"Obviously there's something more going on! _Obvio_—"

Attention solely focused on each other, the two women hardly noticed that the bathroom door had opened until Sofia screamed: "STOP FIGHTING! STOP BEING MEAN TO EACH OTHER!"

She gave them each a reproachful look, then slammed the door shut and scurried back towards the safety of the tub.

Anger dissipating, Callie and Arizona met each other's eyes; first, they shared a feeling of pure shock, and then the guilt hit them and the flurry of apologies:

"Sofia…"

"Sweetie, we're sorry."

"We'll stop fighting, okay?"

"Just come out. Please."

Finally, after several minutes of pleas—with Callie resting her forehead against the doorframe in defeat and Arizona eyeing her with worry—Sofia surrendered. She stood up, slowly making her way towards the door, unlocking it and then stopping there—too afraid to pull it open.

Instead, she turned back, sitting on the rim of the bathtub and keeping her eyes locked on the floortiles beneath her feet.

And there they remained, even when Callie and Arizona poked open the door, cautiously watching her and waiting for some sort of response.

"You okay?" Callie asked, moving to sit down beside her just as Arizona moved towards the little girl's other side. Gently, she tucked a stray lock of light-brown hair behind her ear to encourage her to look up.

"We're sorry for fighting, Sof," Arizona offered when their daughter didn't answer. "We didn't mean to scare you."

Wiping the wayward tears from her eyes, Sofia finally looked up, facing Mommy. "Why do you hate Mama?"

Arizona's eyebrows shot up in surprise, her mouth falling agape. "_What_? I don't hate Mama." Her eyes met Callie's, equally as wide.

"Yes, you do!" Sofia accused. Even being only six, she knew it was the only logical explanation.

"Sofia…" Callie breathed. "Why would you think that?"

"Because!" she insisted. "At school, when Darius was mean to Mia, she said she hated him and stopped eating lunch with him."

Slowly, Arizona nodded, attempting to keep up with her daughter's mode of reasoning.

"And, after my dance shows, you, me, _and_ Mama used to get pizza. But now it's just me and you or me and her!" Her big brown eyes welled up with tears. "Why do you hate each other?!"

_Welp_, Arizona thought, _This isn't going as expected_. Just an hour before, she had been prepared to have a serious talk with Sof about her action, its consequences, and why stealing was so hurtful.

In the end, however, it appeared that she and Callie were having a serious talk with Sof about their own thoughtless actions, the consequences, and how they'd unintentionally hurt _her_.

Their relationship over the last few weeks had been tense, to say the least. Arizona hurt, and she knew Callie hurt, too. They both hated what their relationship had come to, and they knew it was too late to go back. The pain, the resentment, and the anger only continued piling up.

Which was fine. Callie had always had the power to hurt her more than anyone else, and Arizona could accept the fact that her ex-wife hadn't stopped her lawyer from making her brutal attacks.

What she couldn't accept, however, was Sofia hurting because of their own issues.

"We don't hate each other," Callie promised, attempting to maintain a reassuring tone as she felt her own heart break. Poor Sofia. They had attempted to keep her out of their firefight, but apparently, they'd been unable to shelter her entirely.

"We don't," Arizona seconded, running her hand down Sof's little back.

Slowly, Sofia lifted her head to meet her moms' eyes, not quite ready to believe them yet.

"Come on," Arizona encouraged, standing up. It was late, she knew, but it was the weekend and Sof clearly needed reassurances more than sleep right then. "Let's make some hot chocolate and talk, okay? All three of us."

Even despite her worry, Sofia couldn't hide her dimples at the prospect of hot chocolate. "'Kay," she relented, skipping towards the kitchen to grab the ingredients. Just last month, she had finally made it _for herself_ for the very first time, and she was eager to help again.

Callie stood up, and she and Arizona shared a look of regret and grave understanding.

In a surprisingly soft, vulnerable voice, Callie wondered, "You think it's my fault that she's acting out? For putting this whole thing in motion?"

Refusing to allow her own hurt to eclipse the truth, Arizona immediately shook her head. "It's not your fault," she assured her. "And, if it is, then it's mine, too."

Callie offered a somber smile, grateful for the simple truth. "What do we say to her?"

Arizona gulped. "We tell her the truth." Parts of it, anyway—the part that they made mistakes, the part that they'd hurt each other, and the part that they were still a family. It was all they could do.

Callie nodded, agreeing, "And then we talk to her about the stealing thing."

Resembling a team, even despite everything, Callie and Arizona walked side by side into the kitchen, and the little family worked together to make three creamy hot chocolates. With Sofia in the middle, they sat on the living room's plush couch, setting the steaming mugs on the coffee table.

Callie and Arizona shared one final look, and then Callie began, "Sofia…"

"Wait!" the little girl exclaimed, cringing at the disappointment that laced her mother's tone.

Callie inhaled a sharp breath in preparation, and Arizona prompted: "What is it, Sof? We're listening."

Sofia grabbed the blanket that was neatly folded on the back of the couch, instantly throwing it over herself as she buried her face in her knees. "I stole it! I stole it, and I know stealing's bad! I know I was bad to do it!"

"Sofia!" Arizona almost chuckled at their daughter's attempt to hide, grateful to know they'd taught her right from wrong.

She and Callie worked to pry the blanket off her, and when they did, Callie asked, "Why did you do it, then?"

"I don't know," Sof shrugged, pouting.

"You know stealing is wrong, and it can hurt people," Arizona chimed in. "The owner of that store wouldn't be able to take care of his kids if everyone stole everything he sells. That wouldn't be good, would it?"

Sofia vigorously shook her head from side to side. She didn't want that.

"So you made a mistake," Callie concluded, glad to see that their daughter understood what she'd done wrong. "What do you think you should do to fix it?"

Inspired with an idea, Sof looked up and met her mama's eyes. "I can do extra chores! Then, I can give the store my allowance and say sorry. And!" she quickly added proudly, "I'll promise never to do it again."

Callie and Arizona smiled down at her. "That sounds like a good idea, sweetie. That's exactly what you should do," Arizona cooed, wrapping her arm around Sof's back and pulling her close.

"And we'll go with you. Mommy and I," Callie added. "Because Mommy and I don't hate each other. And we're sorry we let you think so."

"But we never hang out anymore!" Sofia argued. "And you don't smile at each other!" She had noticed the small changes in her moms' behavior, and they made her sad.

Arizona racked her brain, attempting to come up with an explanation, but Callie (luckily) beat her to it.

"You know how, by stealing that doll, you hurt that storeowner, even if you didn't mean to?"

Slowly, Sofia nodded.

"Sometimes grownups do that, too," Callie continued. "Maybe not by stealing, but by doing something or saying something that hurts someone else."

She risked a look at Arizona, taking in her pursed lips and those careful blue eyes that attempted to shroud the lasting pain within.

"And I did that," she admitted, her lips quirking up into a gentle smile, eyes still on Arizona's face. And, immediately, she noted the way the blonde's breath hitched at the regret alone that was so evident in her tone.

"We both do, sometimes," Arizona added, contemplatively smoothing their daughter's hair. She knew Callie wasn't _entirely_ responsible. Sure, her ex-wife might have gotten the ball rolling, but she herself had played a role in how they'd treated each other in the trial's aftermath. She certainly hadn't always been the victim.

"Yeah," Callie breathed, handing both Sofia and Arizona their mugs of hot chocolate, finally cool enough to drink safely. "We hurt each other, and we didn't want to do stuff together because we were sad, and we were mad at each other."

"That's why you were yelling?" Sof questioned.

"Exactly," Arizona nodded. "But we won't do that anymore, okay? We shouldn't have yelled in front of you like that. But that doesn't mean we hate each other, either. We really only yelled because we care so much, but that's not a good way to show it, huh?"

"Nuh-uh," Sofia shook her head. Her mothers had taught her far better ways to solve problems.

"But we're a family," Arizona promised, her attention solely on Sof. "And we always will be."

"Okay," Sof surmised, finally accepting the explanation. "So you were just sad and mad?"

"Right," Callie confirmed.

"Because you made mistakes and hurt each other?"

Callie and Arizona nodded, and Sofia's brows furrowed in careful thought.

"So what are you gonna do to fix it?"

Arizona's eyes widened in surprise, and she made eye contact with Callie as her own eyebrows flew up in surprise. "I…"

Sof looked between them, an embodiment of natural goodness and innocence, mewling, "That's what you always say to do: if you hurt someone, you make it better."

"You're right," Callie exhaled, kissing the top of her head. She looked up, meeting receptive blue eyes.

"I shouldn't have made any assumptions. I should have talked to you. And I shouldn't have let anyone make you out to be anything less than an amazing mother."

Gulping back her overwhelming emotion, Arizona offered a hint of a nod. Indeed, Callie shouldn't have.

"I called it wrong, and I'll keep trying to find a way to make it up to you until we're okay, again."

"We're okay," Arizona whispered, her heart speeding up in her chest as she watched Callie fill with welcome hope. "I mean, we're not. I'm not. And you're not. But we will be."

They shared a tentative smile then—needing a distraction—refocused their attention on their daughter.

"Alright, Sof, it's way past your bedtime. How about Mama and I tuck you in?"

Sofia shook her head. "I can do it myself," she decided.

"Are you sure?" Arizona worried. She or Callie had always tucked her in every night in the past.

"Uh-huh," Sof grinned, standing up on the couch to kiss first Callie's cheek, then Arizona's. She hopped down, setting her empty mug back on the coffee table. "I'm big enough now."

Callie and Arizona shared a look of confusion. "Okay…"

Arizona held out her arms, and Sofia flew into them, hugging her tight. "We love you, sweetie. And maybe we can all get pizza later this week if Mama has time, okay?"

Sofia nodded, dimpling at the mere idea.

She gave her mama an equally big hug. "Love you, little miss. And we'll both work hard to fix our mistakes tomorrow, right?"

"Right!"

Reluctantly, Callie let her go, and she and Arizona watched their daughter—who, all at once, it seemed, had grown into a person who was wise and could teach them—as she climbed the stairs towards her bedroom.

As soon as they heard her door close, Callie turned to face Arizona. "Well…That seemed to go okay?"

Arizona smiled—a genuine one, this time. "When we make an effort, we work together well."

Callie smiled in return, overcome with good and bad memories of their past. "Always have." She exhaled a long sigh. "And I really am sorry. For what I put you through."

Arizona nodded. "I know. And I just…I hope you know how committed I am to our daughter. She's always my first priority."

"I do," Callie assured her. "You've never given me any reason to doubt that. It was my own…" She stopped midsentence, shrugging helplessly. "Sorry. I can see how you _could_ hate me after that trial."

"I tried to," Arizona admitted softly, lip corners still raised as she distractedly fingered the rim of her mug.

Finally, she looked up and met expectant brown (and, god, _beautiful_) eyes. "I've tried, but I could never hate you. Something always gets in the way."

Callie felt her stomach somersault, and she attempted to swallow, despite her suddenly dry mouth. "You feel it? That…_something_?"

Arizona knit her eyebrows together, wondering if Callie was reading through the lines correctly or misinterpreting.

Arizona was trying to say—perhaps despite her better sense—that she had tried to hate Callie but never could because her love was so strong. And endless.

"Of course," she admitted, as best she could. Even several feet apart, she could feel Callie's warm breath thickening the air, and it made her shiver. "I've always felt it. It's you who stopped."

"_No_," Callie murmured, her breath catching in her throat with her sudden urgency. "I've felt it." Of course she had. Her heart pumped with love for Arizona. Her love was limitless.

She watched as Arizona watched _her_, wide eyed, taking in every microscopic detail—every blink and breath—as Callie paused in preparation, then proffered a serene, resolute smile.

"I still do."

* * *

**Please let me know what you think! Good luck with watching the finale tomorrow!**


	137. Chapter 137

**Home**

* * *

**Hi. This ****was supposed to be bad and lazy and just a way to remember how tf to write. It might still be bad, but it took 15 hours, so it's not lazy. Let me know what you think!**

**Set after 12x24.**

* * *

By the time Callie and Sofia had spent two months in New York—away from Arizona and Seattle—the distance had become their new normal, and they were accustomed to it. Every day, sometimes in the afternoon and always before bed, Callie and Arizona exchanged quick niceties before Sof could get her hands on the phone; and Arizona planned to fly in one weekend per month to spend time with her little girl.

They had found a doable routine and a way to remain a family for the sake of Sofia.

In fact, even despite the distance, they were perhaps even more of a family than before. Though it may have only been idle smalltalk, Callie and Arizona checked in daily before the brunette handed off the phone. And, for the first time in years, neither woman held onto lasting resentments any longer. Each woman was happy that her ex was happy, and that feeling wasn't clouded with any impurities.

Life had moved forward and, ultimately, so had they.

* * *

Callie had opted to spend her Friday afternoon cleaning—by choice, too. The apartment wasn't messy by any means, but she genuinely appreciated the unique mental peace that could only be achieved through organization. And she was merrily humming a tune, wiping down the counters, when she heard her phone ring.

It was Arizona. Calling when Sof would usually be home from summer camp, but this time, she wasn't home.

Still, Callie picked up the phone, not wanting her ex-wife to worry. "Hello?"

"Hey!"

"Hey," Callie smiled; Arizona's enthusiasm was palpable. Fridays were usually the days when she and Sofia _really_ caught up—their best conversation of the week. "Before you get your hopes up, I should confess that Sofia isn't home."

"What?" Arizona complained. "Why?"

"She went over to a friend's." Callie looked down at her watch. "She should be home in less than half an hour, though. The mom promised me she'd have her back by six."

"Okay." Arizona nodded to herself, silently deciding whether to talk to Callie in the meantime or to hang up and wait for Sof.

After an endless moment of uneasy silence, Callie began, "We can give you a call back when-"

Arizona came to a decision. "How are things?"

Callie's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"I mean, really," Arizona continued. "How are _you_? How's...everything there?"

"Everything is…" Biting her lip at the care and sincerity of her ex's tone, Callie considered the truth. "Fine."

And that's what it was. _Fine_. Work was fine. Her girlfriend was fine. Sofia was fine. Everything was fine. She had no notable gossip to share, no drama, no suffering, but no rhapsody, either.

Everything was pure contentment. Which, Callie knew, should have thrilled her. The easiness, even despite the big move. The steady lub-dub of her heart.

Everything was _fine_, but excruciatingly so.

Still, she didn't say all that to Arizona. Only that it was fine.

"Fine?" the blonde questioned, joking, "Is that all I get?"

"No, well…it's good," Callie corrected. "It's good."

"Good," Arizona smiled, though she winced at the strain evident in her voice. "That's…good."

Again, a long pause. The women were accustomed to exchanging short soundbites about Sofia, work, and the freakin' weather. A conversation with possible substance, however, was proving to be harder than expected.

Stubbornly, it was Arizona who broke the silence. "I'm, um, glad you're still so much happier there," she offered generously. "After Blake left…you seemed so sad."

"I was," Callie admitted. "But…not just about that."

"I mean, after the trial, I was sad that I lost the case. Sad that it meant I'd lose Penny. But, after what I put you through, I was sad that I'd lost you, too." She paused. "It wasn't just about her. At all."

"You were sad about me?"

"Yeah," Callie sighed, almost inaudibly. "And about hurting you."

"It all hurt." Arizona's lips curled up into a sad smile. "But you didn't lose me. You never have to worry about that."

"I know," Callie vowed, certain that Arizona was telling the truth. Her ex-wife had, after all, allowed her to be happy and move to New York with Sofia. That was something. It was everything.

"You're family," Callie added. "We're family to each other. Together, we'll always love Sofia and, whether we admit it or not, we'll love each other, too."

Arizona attempted to swallow the golf ball in her throat. That was the truth that both of them knew but neither had ever said aloud. Until that moment. With respect, tenderness, and truth.

"…Right?" Callie worried, hearing nothing but even breathing on the other end of the line.

Even though Callie couldn't see her, the blonde nodded. "Yeah. Exactly right."

Just then, Sofia buzzed in downstairs, and that ended the conversation between the two exes—who, even after everything, had admitted that their love was ever-present.

* * *

From that night on, Arizona and Callie began to talk more than before. As each day and night passed, they began to look forward to their little check-ins more and more, without either of them even realizing it.

The following weekend, Arizona called before Callie put Sof to bed. Penny was always busy at work, so, most of the time, it was just the two of them at home.

"Hey," Callie smiled as she answered the phone, the sound of Sofia's electric toothbrush buzzing in the background. "How was your day?"

"Busy," Arizona exhaled, exhausted after her long day of patients and families and surgeries. "Yours?"

"Fun," Callie grinned. "We did a surgery on conjoined twins. The boys were nine."

Arizona's eyebrows flew up. "_Nine_? Why'd they wait so long?"

Callie shrugged. "They're from some village in rural India," she explained. "Their family couldn't afford it until now."

"And how'd it go?" Arizona pressed. "How was the surgery?!"

Callie grinned, appreciating the interest. "We separated them successfully! Very few complications. Though, honestly, there wouldn't even have been any if you'd been there." That last statement sounded like a confession, her voice lowering self-consciously.

Arizona's lips rose into a slow smile. "The lead Peds surgeon wasn't any good?"

"The Peds guy here is decent, don't get me wrong," Callie defended. "But he's no you."

Bouncing across the living room in her bunny slippers, Sofia whispered, "Is that Mommy?"

"Oh, Sofia's here." Callie was almost disappointed that Sof had gotten ready for bed so quickly. "You want to talk to her?"

"_Please_," Arizona implored. "And Callie?"

"Hmm?" Callie held up a finger, signaling for Sofia to wait.

"Thank you. For, well, for saying that."

Callie smiled. "Just telling the truth."

* * *

"Mommy!" Sofia exclaimed, running to meet her mom as Arizona walked through security towards the exit.

After the mother-daughter pairing had their long-awaited moment, Callie impulsively opted to embrace the blonde herself. "It's good to see you," she whispered, silently noting how perfectly they still fit together.

Which surprised her. Not the fact that their bodies wrapped around each other as if it were where they belonged, but the fact that she made note of that.

She also made note that she regretted pulling away.

"How was the flight?" she asked, mannerly grabbing Arizona's suitcase as they walked towards the exit, Sofia skipping alongside them.

Arizona shrugged. "I made it," she offered vaguely, not wanting to divulge how difficult it still was for her to take planes.

Once they entered the taxi, Sofia began to jabber about all her big plans. They were going to watch movies, get the best chocolate croissants in all of New York, and visit her favorite Brooklyn park.

"That sounds like a great plan, sweetie," Arizona grinned, overjoyed finally to be united with her girl. "Where do you want to go for dinner tonight?"

"Hmm…"

"There's this great Spanish restaurant downtown that we like," Callie chimed in.

"Oh, yeah!" Sof exclaimed. "Yummy paella."

Arizona waited.

"You'd love it," Callie swore, joking, "And I hear they make really good sangria…"

Arizona affectionately rolled her eyes, amazed that Callie still remembered their argument from years and years ago.

"I'm serious!" Callie laughed. "Every time we go there, I think of you." She felt her eyes widen at her own statement but realized it was the truth.

In the opposite seat, Arizona found herself surprised by Callie's words, too. Callie thought of her? Ever? That was news to her.

"Come on," Callie continued, unable to stop herself. "It's been a long day for you. Let me treat us all to dinner."

* * *

A few weeks later, Callie did something she'd never done before. Something she hadn't even realized she was doing until it was already happening.

She dialed Arizona's number.

She didn't know why. But she'd had a difficult, successful surgery earlier that day, and—for some reason—Arizona was the only person she wanted to share her success with.

Of course she'd told her girlfriend. And, of course, her girlfriend had been proud. But, for some reason, that hadn't meant much to Callie.

"Callie?" Arizona picked up the phone immediately. "Are you okay? Is Sofia okay?!" Callie never called first, so it was no surprise that, initially, she panicked.

Callie knit her eyebrows together. "What? No. Sofia's fine. I just…I just wanted to talk to _you_."

Arizona felt her eyes widen. "To…me?"

Callie released a nervous laugh. What the hell was she doing? What had she been thinking? Why would Arizona care about her stuff?

She groaned to herself. "Never mind. I didn't mean to bother you."

"No!" Arizona exclaimed, her tone sounding urgent, even to her own ears. She tried to soften her voice. "You don't bother me. Really. What happened?"

Within nanoseconds, Callie regained her excitement, shamelessly sharing the details of her surgery, and her badassery.

"Callie, that's…" Arizona paused, overcome with personal and professional respect for her ex-wife. "That's incredible. You're amazing."

Callie blushed, humbling, "Well, I had a lot of-"

"No, I mean it," Arizona interrupted. "You're incredible. I can't wait to tell Bailey about it. I-" Her breath caught in her throat. "_We_," she corrected. "Miss having you here."

A huge smile bloomed on Callie's face. Arizona was proud, and that meant everything.

* * *

As the days and weeks wore on, Arizona was happy, but in the strangest way. She was fulfilled in her work, in her friendships, and in her family life—as much as she could be with Sofia on the other side of the country, anyway—and yet some feelings she couldn't reconcile entirely.

She was happy. In many ways, she was happier than she'd been before Callie had left, and she knew that their newfound friendly camaraderie was mostly responsible for that. Another part of her, however, hid the leaden weight of pain she was carrying inside herself.

And while Callie was responsible for the joy, Arizona was evolved enough to realize that she was also responsible for that pain. Though they were closer in many ways—confiding in each other frequently—that only made the blonde feel her absence even more fully.

Callie was close—closer than she'd been when she'd been in Seattle, in many ways—but not close enough.

Callie was closer emotionally, but never as close as Arizona wanted her. Never close enough. Never in her arms, calling that home.

* * *

"Sof?" Callie whispered, briefly bringing her daughter's phone conversation with her mother to a halt. "Time for bed, okay? Say goodnight to Mommy."

"Mama says I have to sleep," Sofia pouted, informing Arizona of the bad news.

"Mama's right," Arizona opined. "I love you, sweetie. We'll talk tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay!" Sof agreed. "I love you!" She handed the phone to Callie.

Callie lifted the phone to her ear. "Hey," she smiled.

"Hey," came Arizona's lilting voice on the other end of the line. "She has to sleep?"

"Yeah," Callie sighed regretfully. "It's late."

"Give her a big kiss from me!" Arizona pleaded, but there was an air of sober gravity in her voice.

"I will," Callie promised. "Hold on. Wait for me, okay?"

"Okay."

Callie haphazardly discarded the still-connected phone on the bookshelf, then sat down on Sofia's mattress and pulled her blankets up to her neck.

"Alright, sweet girl, time for a big kiss from Mommy, and then one from me."

Sofia giggled. "Why?"

"Well," Callie shrugged, "Kissing is a way for people to show how much they love each other. Mommy wants me to give you a big kiss from her because she loves you so, so much."

Sofia grinned. "I love her, too."

Arizona, able to hear their interactions, felt her heart fill with affection for their perfect little girl.

"I know," Callie smiled. "Now…you ready?"

Sofia nodded eagerly, lying back against her pillow and closing her eyes in preparation.

"Okay," Callie grinned. "_This_…is from Mommy." Then, she pounced, assaulting Sof's face with dozens of wet kisses, nuzzling her nose against soft skin and smooth hair that smelled of baby shampoo.

Arizona couldn't help but dimple as she heard Sofia collapse into a fit of giggles, imagining her arms and legs thrashing in delight.

"And _this_," Callie paused, pulling away momentarily, "Is from me." She leaned in, repeating her playful ministrations as Sofia protested "That tickles!"

Finally, she planted one final kiss on Sof's forehead, finishing, "Goodnight, sweetie. Mommy and I love you."

"Love you, too, Mama." Sof closed her eyes, sated and tired from another busy day of fun.

Callie grabbed the phone, then tiptoed towards the door, closing it behind her. She lifted the phone to her ear. "Arizona?"

"Hi."

"Hey," Callie whispered. "Sorry that took so long."

"Don't be," Arizona maintained. She'd been more than happy to listen to the sweet exchange.

Callie sighed.

"Is Blake there?" the blonde wondered. "Should I let you go?"

"No, no," Callie quickly corrected. "She's working late, again." And—oddly enough—Callie found herself thankful for that. She seemed to enjoy the evenings her girlfriend _wasn't_ there more than the nights she was.

She realized that she by far preferred her conversations with Arizona. As innocent and dull as they were, whenever she talked to Arizona, she felt…_something_. Something more than _this is fine_ or _this is pleasant_ or _this is good_.

Something more like: _this is it_.

And that was a heady realization.

It was life-altering, perhaps. Realizing that was enough for her to see that continuing in the direction she had planned—in New York, with her girlfriend—would be to live a lie. To settle. To live and die in cowardice.

Somehow, over the course of the past few months, her feelings for her ex-wife had changed, and developed, and transformed.

Without her realizing it, Arizona had become, to her, her friend, and then her best friend, and then her…person.

The person with whom she wanted to share it all. Not just her thoughts and the details of her day, but…everything. Her life. Her love.

Callie interrupted the Grey-Sloan gossip the blonde was relating, her voice sounding strange, even to her own ears. "Arizona."

Arizona stopped short, and her heart began pounding in her chest, somehow knowing something her brain didn't. "Yeah?" she squeaked.

Callie paused, feeling—on one hand—completely unhinged, but—on the other—entirely sure.

Sure of her feelings. Sure of this decision.

"I miss you."

She waited, listening to Arizona's slow, even breathing on the other end.

No answer.

No answer.

No answer.

Finally, Arizona copped-out. "We miss you here, too." She attempted to force some humor into her strained voice.

"No." Callie shook her head, correcting her ex's mistake. "I don't mean our coworkers."

Arizona waited.

"I miss _you_, Arizona."

Silence.

"I miss you," she continued. "And us. You. And me. Together."

"Callie…" Arizona exhaled, and Callie swore she heard her breath catch, throat phlegming with emotion.

"I mean it."

* * *

The next twenty-seven (_twenty-seven_!) days, their phone calls were awkward. Whenever possible, Arizona avoided making conversation with Callie and, when she had to, their exchanges were curt and merely polite.

Arizona hadn't been able to think of anything but what Callie had said. It was the only thought on her mind. That and all her feelings of reciprocity.

And, yet, she hadn't said anything. And she continued to not say anything, because Callie hadn't brought it up again.

So, perhaps, Arizona figured, her ex-wife had changed her mind. Perhaps Callie'd had one second of regret about their divorce before remembering how _perfect_ her girlfriend was.

Perhaps it had only been a slip-up. Perhaps she wanted Arizona to forget that she'd said anything at all.

So, out of respect for Callie, Arizona didn't say anything.

Until Day Twenty-Seven, that is. On Day Twenty-Seven—twenty-seven days after _I miss you_—Callie finally brought it up again.

It was time. She'd done what she'd needed to do, and Arizona had called for Sof, but Sof wasn't home.

It was time, Callie knew. She had no more excuses. She was ready.

"_Listen_."

Arizona felt herself stiffen. She didn't want to listen. She knew what was coming: something big.

She was terrified.

"About…before," Callie continued, her heart beating in her ears. "You should know that I meant it. I meant what I said. And you, um, you never answered."

Arizona's eyebrows shot up. "About…missing you?" she wondered uneasily. Of course she missed Callie. Every waking moment. Even in dreams.

"Yeah," Callie breathed. "I just…I want to talk, Arizona. I have some things to say to you, but first…I need to know I'm not alone in this."

"You're not," Arizona vowed, giving in, her voice meek but certain. "I miss you, too. And not just you being here, but you being…_here_. With me." Enveloped in her arms, calling that home.

Callie exhaled an uneven breath of relief through her nose. _Thank god. It's not just me_. Slowly, one side of her lips curled up. "Me, too." She missed it more and more with each passing day.

And then she told Arizona what she'd been up to during the past twenty-seven days: how she'd ended her relationship with her girlfriend as soon as she discovered her ever-present feelings for Arizona; how she'd moved herself and Sofia into a nice hotel, just until she could finish up her contract with NYU and then move back to Seattle; how she had been planning on coming home, even if her feelings had been unrequited; how she was ready to fight for Arizona, and their love.

And, with every profession of love Callie made, Arizona felt her heart grow and swell.

She had been unsure of Callie's intentions, of her constancy, but no more. Callie had become her best friend—a woman she trusted, and one with whom she was in love.

They were both in love with each other, and they both wanted to be together. So, they decided, _let's be together_.

* * *

Unfortunately, being together didn't turn out to be that easy. It wasn't immediate.

They were together, but they hadn't seen each other in months. Their polite co-parentage had morphed into a long-distance friendship and then, finally, a long-distance relationship.

It was progress, certainly. They loved each other, and they knew it. But, still, they were two physical people who couldn't physically _be_ together, and they were impatient.

They'd spent years apart. They'd spent years…confused about what they wanted. And now that finally they had realized they wanted only each other, they were stuck on opposite ends of the country.

And it wasn't as easy as taking a plane to visit one another. Callie had sent Sof on a plane to Seattle a few times, but she'd never been able to accompany her—being too busy with obligations at work and the overwhelming amount of surgeries NYU had assigned her before losing her for good.

And Arizona hadn't visited, either. A few weeks before, she'd finally admitted how hard it still was for her to get on a plane on her own, and Callie had made her promise not to, until she or Sofia could accompany her. It was a promise she would have eagerly broken, had she had any time.

But she was swamped at work, too, so the way things were…they hadn't seen each other. In months.

And it was unbearable.

"Hey," Callie yawned, collapsing on the bed in her own room after she and Arizona had put Sofia to bed together.

"Hey." Arizona smiled at Callie's sleepy-voice. "You sound exhausted," she worried. "Should I let you sleep? We can always catch up tomorrow. I could call you during your lunchtime for a little lunch date."

Callie smiled at the thought, and at the blonde's concern, but she shook her head. "No, I'm okay. How are you? I want to hear about your day."

Arizona hummed appreciatively, then began, "My day was…" She sighed.

Callie knit her eyebrows together, leaning onto her elbow and propping up her head in her hand, as if it'd help her focus. "What's wrong?" she worried.

"Nothing's wrong," Arizona quickly assured her. "It was just…_long_."

Callie felt her heart lurch with sympathy. She knew those long days well. "What happened?"

"Just…" Arizona released a long exhale. "I had to see lot of sick kids, Callie. I saw a bunch of kids I couldn't fix. And all day, I had to look all their parents in the eyes and tell them that there wasn't anything I could do for them." She paused, then murmured, "That there wasn't anything _anyone_ could do."

"And then I came home, and…the house is empty." She'd (lovingly) kicked Deluca out after Callie had revealed her plans to return to Seattle and they'd decided to get back together. It had seemed like a good idea at the time but then, some nights, it just meant that she was really, really lonely.

"_You_ have Sof there," she continued. "But I don't have either of you. And," she exhaled a tired breath. "You know what I want? The one thing that could make me feel better?"

"What?" Callie wondered, her voice tight with emotion. God, she ached to be with Arizona. Her body shook with an overwhelming need. To be there. To go.

"You," Arizona intoned. Her sheets rustled as she reached for one of her bedpillows, wrapping an arm around it and squeezing hard. "The only thing that would help is one of your hugs. Just…_a hug_."

Callie almost whimpered aloud, her bedroom smudging at the edges as the vulnerability in Arizona's voice nearly dissolved her body into a puddle of tears. She felt her innards cool to ice, her body a leaden weight, a manacle that kept her grounded in the New York high-rise. She wanted to fly. She wanted to run to the woman she loved and hold her and hold her and hold her. "Arizona…"

"It's stupid." Arizona quickly waved it off. "I know that. Rationally, I know that. But…I miss you."

"I know," Callie agreed, the two words coming out strangled. The missing never ceased. She just wanted to go home to Seattle. And to Arizona.

"And we love each other, so we're supposed to be together."

"I know," Callie breathed, shutting her eyes in frustration. "The distance…sucks." There was no better way to describe it. It simply _sucked_.

"You're just…really, really far away," Arizona concluded, voice thick with emotion. Too far. Never close enough.

Callie felt her heart splintering. Her legs shook uncontrollably, her feet arching towards the door. She trembled with need. A need to go, to love, to protect. Getting to Arizona was more than a simple desire. It was a cellular longing.

And it was all futile. It was the middle of the night, their daughter was sound asleep, and she had work the next morning. She wanted to catch a flight, but she couldn't.

So she offered the only consolation she could give. "I'll be home, soon," she promised. "And then I'll be able to hug you. I might never stop."

Arizona smiled, wiping at her watery eyes. "I guess that's a fair compromise."

Callie exhaled a long breath. "It's not enough," she acknowledged. "But I'll be home in two weeks. And I'll stay there. If we ever leave Seattle again, it'll be together."

"Two weeks," Arizona confirmed. "Two weeks until I get my girls back."

Callie nodded, even though Arizona couldn't see her. "Two weeks. We'll be there. Then, we'll get _you_ back. Finally."

"Finally."

* * *

Two weeks later, to the day, Callie and Sofia got off their plane in Seattle. They were welcomed by cool, wet air, their favorite city skyline, and the big yellow taxi Arizona had reserved for them.

She had, of course, planned to meet them at the airport herself, but when she'd gotten paged to do an emergency fetal surgery a few hours before, she and Callie had agreed to meet at the house, instead. The house that—at least for a little while—would become _their_ house: Arizona's, Callie's, and Sofia's. The Robbins-Torres house, for all of them.

In the taxi, Callie mindlessly ran her fingers through Sofia's hair, attempting to soothe her own nerves to no avail. She felt sundered, split in two and split at the seams. She hadn't seen Arizona in _months_. Not since everything had changed. And the reality of being together again—truly together again—after so much lost time was enough to still her lungs and heart, if she would allow.

And she might have surrendered, allowed her heart to stop in fear, if it weren't for Sofia's tiny, allaying hand that then wiggled its way into her own. "Are you scared to see Mommy?" she sensed.

_God, that girl has an awareness beyond her years_. "A little," she admitted.

Sofia couldn't imagine why her mom was scared. They were about to be a family, again. To live together, to love together, to laugh together, to do it all.

"Why?" she wondered, all doe eyes and innocence.

Callie bit her lip, wondering how to explain her complicated feelings to her seven-year-old. "Well…" she began. "Mommy and I haven't seen each other in a long time, now. And we both love you, and I love her, and I know she loves me very much, but-"

"OH!" Sof exclaimed, bringing her mom's weak explanation to a halt. "I forgot!"

"Forgot what, Sofia?" Callie pressed, suddenly worried she'd left something important on the plane.

"When I talked to her before we got on the plane, she said to give you a big, big kiss from her, but I forgot to!" She pulled Callie's arm towards herself, effectively angling her mom's face low enough to plant a big, sloppy, sticky-from-chocolate-ice-cream kiss, right on her supple left cheek. "There!"

Pulling back in surprise, Callie looked at Sofia, wide-eyed, then laughed. Suddenly, she felt much, much better. She had nothing to worry about. Arizona loved her bigtime, and that was undeniable. "Thank you, sweetie." As usual, Sofia had saved the day, bringing her a sense of perspective.

Sofia dimpled back at her, and they spent the rest of the taxi ride in companionable silence.

* * *

Minutes later, they stood on Arizona's doorstep, a collection of suitcases discarded behind them.

Sofia ran up to the door, ringing the doorbell without hesitation. "Mommy said she and Andrew repainted my room! There are butterflies on the walls now!"

"No way!" Callie feigned interest, even as she shifted from foot to foot, fidgeting continuously and shivering in the blackness of night. The nerves were back with a vengeance, and she couldn't breathe. _I'm going to faint I'm going to faint I'm going to faint._

Somewhere, Mark rolled his eyes. _You're not going to faint_.

And then Arizona opened the door, and Callie saw her face, and _you're right_. Callie saw her face, and she was healed. She felt calm—no anxiety, no agitation. All at once, she felt _sure_. Of everything.

"Mommy!" Sofia leapt into her mom's arms, not wasting even a second.

"_Sofia_," Arizona exhaled in contentment, enfolding Sof into a big, tight hug; breathing her in. Sof was there to stay. Where she belonged.

From her position near the ground, Arizona looked up and caught Callie's eye, and they exchanged shy smiles as Callie waited for her turn.

Too soon, Sof pulled away. "I want to see my room!"

"Of course you do!" Arizona laughed, pushing the front door all the way open. "Come in, come in!"

Sofia raced into the house, skipping up the narrow staircase to catch a peek at the welcome surprise that awaited her.

Callie and Arizona's eyes trailed after her and, when she was out of sight, Callie stepped forward, arms outstretched.

"I think I owe you something."

Maintaining fixed eye contact, Callie watched Arizona's pupils dilate, finally getting the chance to fully take in the tall goddess in all her glory.

Stepping forward, Arizona shivered in anticipation for her much-awaited hug. Then, she wrapped her arms around the taller woman, feeling Callie instantly reciprocate and pull their bodies as close together as was humanly possible. Callie molded herself into Arizona's smaller frame, exhaling a shallow breath.

There was nothing that could eclipse the feeling of finally holding Arizona, like _this_: smelling her sweetness, feeling her softness, and shuddering at the magic of it all.

Against Callie's shoulder, with eyes closed in unalloyed fulfillment, Arizona murmured, "You're home." She still couldn't believe it. Callie was home. Home in Seattle. Home in her.

Callie nodded. Right there, in that moment, she was home. Where she belonged.

"I'm home."

* * *

Finally, minutes later, they pulled away—but not far. Callie's soft, strong hands dropped to Arizona's waist, and Arizona's fingers caressed Callie's cheek as she brushed lose strands of hair behind her ears.

"_Calliope_," she smiled in jest, "I've loved you for a hell of a long time."

Callie offered a gentle smile. "Me, too. You're…the one love of my life."

Arizona's eyes inadvertently widened, her strong, playful façade slipping and leaving her feeling naked and wide open.

She knew Callie loved her whole-heartedly, but _that_ hadn't been something she'd expected to hear.

"Really?"

Callie's smile grew, her thumbs lightly stroking up and down a slim ribcage. "_Yeah_!" she vowed, as if Arizona should have known. "I mean…aren't I yours?"

Solemnly, Arizona nodded. Of course she was. Callie was the only woman who mattered.

"Well, it goes both ways," Callie shrugged. "You're…" she paused, feeling oddly bashful. "You're my true love."

Arizona's lips curled up into a slow smile, and she felt her heart swell with warmth and love. "I think you owe me something else, then, too," she breathed, her gaze falling to perfect plump lips.

Callie didn't need to be told twice. She lifted one hand to the back of Arizona's neck, pulling the face of the woman she loved towards her and capturing her lips in a long-overdue kiss.

With their wet lips entwining and moving against each other to the rhythm of ecstasy, Arizona moaned in appreciation—a sound she usually would have swallowed, but…this was Callie. And, anyway, she had the right; she'd waited long enough for this moment.

And, in the end, she was glad she didn't swallow her groan, because Callie released an answering sigh of pleasure, her grip tightening on a narrow waist.

They were filled with each other, surrounded by each other, overcome with each other. They saw, heard, smelled, tasted, and felt nothing much each other, and it was wonderful.

It had been too long, and nothing and no one else in the world compared to being together.

Eventually, they pulled back to catch their breaths, blissed out and happy, never breaking eye contact.

That is, until Callie saw something behind Arizona out of the corner of her eye. Something she hadn't expected to see.

_Sofia_. Eyes wide, mouth agape, stuck in a permanent "O"!

"Sofia!"

Arizona whipped around to face their daughter, her face burning with embarrassment. Kissing in front of Sofia eventually wouldn't be a big deal, she knew, but the one they'd just shared perhaps wasn't the best inaugural example of physical contact between her and Callie; it hadn't quite been G-rated.

Perceiving Arizona's distress, Callie lifted her hand to affectionately rub her back as she bravely addressed their daughter. "Sofia…remember how we talked to you about how Mommy and I are-"She stopped short, though, as Sof's stupefied countenance turned to one of utter amazement.

Arizona noticed, too, and that helped her recover from her moment of mortification. She reached for Callie's hand and prompted, "Sof…?" She paused. "What are you thinking?"

Sofia grinned. "That was a _big_ kiss! The biggest kiss ever!" she exclaimed. "You must love each other more than the whole wide world!"

Callie and Arizona turned to face each other, and the second their eyes met, they positively _giggled_. Arizona leaned in, leaving a chaste whisper of a kiss on swollen red lips.

"We do," Callie confirmed, noting the way Sof bounced on her toes, ready to leap into the air at any second. It appeared that their kiss hadn't freaked her out in the slightest; she was overjoyed.

Her moms were back together. It was a dream come true.

"And we love _you_," Arizona added. "Which is why I bought half a gallon of chocolate ice cream to celebrate your homecoming."

"Yaaay!" Sofia sang, racing towards the kitchen. "Ice cream!"

Callie smacked her face with the palm of her hand as they began making their way to the kitchen. "She already had ice cream today. Now, she's never going to sleep."

"Good," Arizona quipped, squeezing Callie's hand that was still intertwined with her own. "Because I don't ever want to let her go again."

And as they watched their daughter diligently scoop out ice cream into three white bowls, Callie realized that Arizona hadn't just been talking about Sofia and about letting her go, but about letting Callie go, too.

Arizona had let her go, and a part of her worried that Callie might leave, again.

But Callie wouldn't. Never again would she go. Or ever want to.

Slowly walking towards her after grabbing a few spoons from the drawer, Callie tenderly wrapped her arms around Arizona from behind. She felt dozens of butterflies take flight in her stomach when the blonde contently leaned back against her and held onto caramel arms to keep her there, clearly craving the warm contact just as much.

Callie leaned forward, pressing a kiss into a smooth porcelain clavicle, and whispered the promised truth: "You won't have to. We're home."


	138. Chapter 138

As Callie tucked her into bed one night, eleven-year-old Sofia pouted, "I miss Mom."

Pulling up the sheets, Callie's hands stilled, and she sighed. She hated this part.

So far, every year she'd had Sofia with her in New York, the winters had been hard. By winter, school events and the holiday season ramped up, and Sof wasn't able to visit Arizona in Seattle as often, or vice versa.

By winter, the distance took a toll on Sofia, and her support system in New York—which, by that point, was only Callie—wasn't enough.

Sofia was approaching her pre-teens, and Callie knew their daughter needed them. She needed _both_ of her mothers close.

And, unfortunately, it was a need that couldn't be helped.

She knew that there was no way she could cling to her sanity if they permanently moved back to Washington, and she knew that Arizona never would want to abandon her home.

In fact, neither had Callie. But she'd had to leave, anyway, and she'd had to stay away.

"I know, sweetie," Callie sympathized, handing her daughter "Boo," the stuffed bunny the two of them had gifted her on her second birthday, once upon a time. "You'll see her soon, okay?"

Sof pouted out her lower lip. "I'm forgetting her, Mama. Whenever I don't see one of you for a long time, I start to forget stuff, and it keeps me awake."

Exhaling another tired breath, Callie relented, sitting on the edge of the bed.

It was late. It was a school night, so she was eager to help her little girl sleep in any way she could. "Is there anything I can do?"

Offering a sudden smile, Sof eagerly nodded her head. "Yeah. Help me remember," she suggested. "Tell me five things about her."

Callie knit her eyebrows together, then she understood. "Hmm…" she began, buying herself time to recall a few factoids for her daughter.

In fact, she didn't think of her ex-wife often. She tried hard not to.

Especially since ending her relationship with Penny—a decision she had made rather impulsively, if not callously—she fiercely avoided thinking of Arizona.

But Sofia really, really needed sleep. So, there Callie was, concentrating on nothing but on thinking of her ex-wife.

Finally, a nostalgic smile emerged on her full lips. "She has the best dance music ever."

"Oh, yeah!" Sof exclaimed, giggling, "With One Direction!"

"Yeah!" Callie laughed. "She put them on her phone just for you!"

Then, she paused, thinking. There was so much that she couldn't remember.

And there was so much more that she couldn't forget.

"Her hair smells really good. Like vanilla," she remembered.

Sofia closed her eyes, attempting to remember the scent herself.

"She loves making friends," Callie continued. "You know, once, she just walked right up to our old friend Teddy and _informed_ her that they were going to be friends. Just like that."

Sof's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I'm serious!" Callie affirmed, continuing, "And I've seen _you_ do the same thing on the playground, so you definitely got your friendliness from her."

"Really?"

"Really," Callie swore, watching Sof beam proudly. "And…" She paused, thinking of more things. So much came to mind, but her brain settled on one image and wouldn't let it go.

"She has a _super_-magic smile," she recalled, her own cheeks rising at the memory of that wonderful, beautiful smile. "And when she smiles at you, everything gets better."

Sofia offered a little nod of agreement, but Callie didn't notice. She was lost in her own world, lost in flashbacks, recalling her lost life and love.

"What's the fifth thing?" Sofia finally interrupted her thoughts with the hopeful little question.

Callie forced herself out of her memories, but instead of offering an answer, she leaned down and kissed Sofia's forehead. "I think four is enough for tonight," she whispered. At that moment, she couldn't handle any more remembering. Not without bursting into tears.

Sofia, on the other hand, felt like she might cry. "Please?" Not hearing that fifth thing felt like getting coal on Christmas. Like expectation followed by disappointment.

Callie gave her a waning smile. "Not tonight." She stood up. "Goodnight, sweetie. I love you."

Sofia sniffled, politely swallowing back her desire to tantrum, replying, "'Night. I love you, too."

* * *

A few months later, Sof was at last reunited with her other mother for Spring Break. They spent their first few days together catching up while at the park, the farmer's market, the waterfront, and while shopping for a new pair of shoes for each of them. (They had considered going to the zoo, too, but decided that it was too sad to see wild animals imprisoned in little enclosed spaces, so they'd skipped it.)

Their time together thus far had been incredible and, like Callie, Arizona always tucked her in at night.

One night, as Arizona stood up to leave, Sofia stopped her. "Mom?"

"Hmm?" Arizona turned to face her.

"Do you ever miss Mama?"

Arizona felt her throat go dry. That wasn't a question she'd been expecting her daughter to ask. At age five? Sure. At age seven? Maybe. But at age eleven? No way.

By that time, more years had passed of Callie and Arizona being apart than years they'd ever spent together.

In the eight long years they'd been apart, their bodies had replaced mostly themselves, on the cellular level: their epithelial cells, their nervous, smooth, skeletal, and cardiac tissue, and their cartilage were all entirely new.

In fact, if Callie ever touched her again—and she wouldn't, Arizona was quick to remind herself—if she ever rediscovered the ragged edges of her hipbones, the valley of her spine, the heat of her belly and sinews and twist of flesh, it would be a feeling her porcelain skin wouldn't recognize—her cells completely untouched by those spindly fingers and strong caramel hands.

If Callie ever touched her again—_and she won't_, Arizona's reminded herself—it'd feel like the first time all over again, but _more_.

And that was saying something. Up until Callie had touched her that first time, she hadn't even known she'd had skin.

And, if she ever touched Callie again—_and you won't_, Arizona reminded herself—it'd feel like the first time, too.

It was strange, though. Their time as a couple, and then as wives, had seemed like their zenith.

The earthly paradise of knowing that, out of everyone in the world, they'd found each other had once been their solace. Years later, however, it was a reality that was long-forgotten, and Arizona could hardly trust her memory anymore. Did it even happen—her and Callie? Had it really been as special as she remembered?

"I miss both of you, Sof," Arizona admitted, sitting on the edge of the bed. "We're family, so I miss having you here, all the time, with me."

"Mama, too?" Sof pressed.

"Mama, too," Arizona nodded.

When she'd let Callie go, she had hoped it would make things easier. She had hoped that not having to see her, and to be reminded of her every day, would help her move on.

And perhaps it had. She'd dated since. She'd even had a few lengthy relationships—ones that could have been serious, if she'd allowed. And then, eventually, she had stopped looking. She had accepted being alone—and no longer lonely—and alone she remained.

"What are five things you miss about her?"

"Sofia…" Arizona warned.

"What?" Sof feigned innocence.

"Your mom and I divorced a long, long time ago. It's inappropriate to suggest that I miss her-"

"No, not like that!" Sofia waved the idea off, sitting up in bed. "I know you're divorced. I just mean…as a person."

Arizona exhaled a long breath, probing Sofia's face for a long moment. Finally, she surrendered, "I'll tell you _one_ thing I miss about her."

Sofia smiled in victory.

"_As a person_," Arizona added stubbornly. "As _family_. Nothing more."

Sofia nodded, lying back down. She could accept that.

"Her laugh," Arizona finally admitted. "Your mama has the best laugh." She slowly shook her head, overcome with a sense of wonder.

Sofia's smile widened. "She says _you_ have the best smile."

"She-. _What_?" Arizona's head immediately snapped up.

"I asked her," Sofia offered vaguely. "And she said it's magic."

Arizona forced a casual chuckle from her throat, but it sounded strained, even to her own ears. Suddenly, she was overcome with memories. Of the past. Of love lost.

And they hurt.

"Well, you should get some sleep, sweetie," she decided, leaning down to kiss Sof's hair. "We need to get up early so that we can spend all day together tomorrow and I won't have to miss _you_ too much when you go back to New York for the rest of the year."

Sofia closed her eyes, accepting the finality of her mom's words. Clearly, she was done talking about it—for the night, anyway.

"I love you, Mom," she proclaimed, turning onto her side and hugging Boo tight.

"I love you, too, pumpkin."

* * *

A few months later, Sofia woke up to the sound of a cupboards opening and shutting. She hopped out of bed, grabbed Boo, and tiptoed towards the kitchen to find the cause of the noise.

Finding her mama there, she slowly walked toward her. "Mama?" she began, her tone tentative.

Callie slammed the cupboard shut in her surprise. "Sofia," she growled, half-asleep, "It's one in the morning. What are you doing up?"

"Mama, are you okay?" she worried, staying a safe distance away, as if scared to walk into her mom's private suffering.

Callie heaved a heavy breath, impatiently insisting, "Yes, Sof, I'm fine. Go back to bed."

But Sofia didn't move. Feet planted to the floor, she tried again. "What's wrong?"

Finally, Callie turned to look at her, exhaling, "Did your teachers tell you what happened today in South Carolina?"

"The shooting?" Sof wondered, eyes wide and unblinking, fixed to her mama's face.

Callie nodded. "Yeah. A crazy guy shot up a Marine Corps base, and it made me think o-"

"Of Mommy?" Sofia guessed.

"Yeah," she sighed in defeat. That hadn't been what she had planned to say, but it certainly was the truth. "It made me think of Mommy."

Sofia bit her lip, risking, in a small voice, "Do you think of her a lot?"

Callie nodded, admitting, "I do."

"Do you ever miss her?"

Callie inhaled a sharp breath, admitting, "I do." Of course she did.

"But…not enough?" Sofia wondered, thinking, _if they miss each other, why won't they just _see_ each other? Why won't they just get back together so that they can _stop_ missing each other?_

"Sof, it's never about not missing her 'enough,'" Callie explained, pain permeating her voice. "It's always enough. But…" She sighed. "There are some things you're just too young to understand."

"But I want to understand," Sofia pleaded, hating the youthful desperation in her tone. "I understand a lot of things," she insisted.

"Not this," Callie whispered. "_I _don't even understand what happened between me and your mom." She paused, taking a moment to rub at her tired, rheum-rimmed eyes. "We were happy for a long time," she disclosed. "And then she wasn't, and neither was I."

Sofia was silent for a moment, just processing. Then, she worried, "Was it _my_ fault? You were happy before me, so…" She paused. "Was I bad?" the last word was barely audible, as she was suddenly overcome with worry that her words might be true.

Callie felt her throat constrict at hearing her daughter's fears, and she immediately grabbed her by the shoulders and squatted down to be at eye-level with her. "No!" she fought, almost angry. "No, it was not your fault!" She worked at softening her tone. It didn't really work. "Sof, don't you _ever_ say it was your fault._ I_ decided to end our marriage. I left, and Mommy didn't stop me. _I_ left. So it wasn't your fault. Got it?"

Owl-eyed, Sofia nodded. "Got it," she relented, overwhelmed by her mama's impassioned outburst.

"Good," Callie breathed, relieved to have settled the issue.

She changed the subject. "It's late. Let's just go back to bed."

Again, Sof nodded, whispering, "Okay." She trudged back towards her room, crawled back in bed, and—eventually—fell back asleep.

On the other hand, Callie didn't fall asleep for another few hours. She felt gutted: first, because of the sanguinary shooting—one that was so commonplace in their gun-hungry country—and second, because of what Sofia had said. Because of that blame she'd placed on herself—that pain she'd been carrying around.

As a mother, it destroyed her. Not only because Sof had felt it, but because she was so _wrong_ to have felt it.

Sofia was one of the reasons why she and Arizona had worked things out for as long as they had.

And she wasn't to blame for their eventual separation. Of course she wasn't.

Ultimately, Callie decided, apart from circumstance, only she herself was to blame.

_She_ had left. _She_ had walked out of that office. She could have kept trying, but she hadn't.

She had given up. She had let the love of her life go. And, now, she was living without her, paying for it.

* * *

A few weeks later, Sofia was home in Seattle for a week before she'd need to go back to New York, pack up her things, and prepare to come back for a year with her Mommy.

After spending a few days with her mom, she'd taken a two-day camping trip for her old friend's birthday party and came home the following night with tears in her eyes.

"Sofia, what's wrong?" Arizona threw open the door and raced towards her daughter, holding the little girl's cheeks in her hands. "What happened?"

"Boo!" Sofia cried, the rain pouring in the onyx air behind her. "I left her somewhere! We looked but couldn't find her anywhere!"

"Oh, sweetie…" Arizona exhaled, pulling Sofia against her. "We'll find her. Get some warm clothes on and we'll go."

Sofia nodded gratefully, wiping her eyes and hurrying to her room to put on a few more layers.

Ten minutes later, she and Arizona hopped into the car, each equipped with an LED flashlight, and they prepared for the short drive to the campground.

Fifteen minutes into the drive, Arizona heard a sniffle come from the backseat.

"Sofia…" Arizona reached her hand back, comfortingly rubbing her hand over Sof's leg. "It'll be okay. We're going to look for her."

"I need her! I can't sleep without her!"

"I know. We'll look, okay? She's probably still there."

* * *

Even with the limited ground they had to cover, they searched—hand-in-hand—until 11 o'clock at night.

Finally, Arizona regretfully began, "Sof, it's late. We need to head back to the car and go home."

"But Mom!" Sofia argued. "She's out here somewhere!"

"Honey, we can only look for so long," Arizona stated pragmatically. "A little girl probably found Boo and took her home and will cherish her just like you did. I'll buy you another-"

"NO!" Sofia exclaimed, her eyes welling with angry tears. Abruptly, she dropped her mom's hand, refusing to take even another step.

Surprised, Arizona stopped moving forward, turning back to face her.

Suddenly, Sofia was furious. "You're giving up."

"Sofia…"

"You give up on _everything_," she continued, her voice eerily decisive. Quietly enraged.

"Wh-?" Arizona was speechless. "That's not true."

"Yes, it is!" Sofia accused, fierce and unwilling to back down. Not anymore. "All you do is give up!"

Arizona just gaped at her, feeling her own daughter rip her heart right out of her chest. "Sof-"

"You just give up and don't ever say how you feel," Sofia continued her attack. "I bet you didn't even fight for Mama when she left." She knew she was being cruel, but she didn't care. All the hurting had piled up and was leaking out of her.

Arizona exhaled a breath of agony, already defeated, but still, she meekly argued, "Sof, Mama and I weren't even together, then."

"Before that!" Sofia barked. "When you first stopped being together! I bet you didn't even fight."

Eager for her to understand, Arizona squatted down, grabbing Sof's hands and ignoring the protests from her tired leg.

"I tried to fight-"

The little girl attempted to jerk away, and Arizona loosened her grip on her hands, but she didn't let go.

"_No_, I tried!" Arizona insisted. "I tried! You don't think I wanted us to stay together just as much as you do? Your mama was everything to me!"

"You didn't try!" Sofia argued. She wouldn't believe it. "She wasn't 'everything' to you."

"Yes, she was!" Arizona felt her voice break in her desperation. "Sof, she was everything! _Everything_!" She felt tears sting her eyes, but she couldn't stop. Everything was coming out, and she couldn't stop. The emotions were building and building, and her body searched for a release. "I loved her!"

"NO!" Sofia shouted. "If you loved her, you'd be together! You'd tell her to come home!"

"Sofia, she doesn't want to move back here," Arizona stated—almost successfully maintaining a calm façade, even though the admittance of the truth broke her heart into tiny irreparable pieces. "She-"

"She says Seattle's full of 'living ghosts,'" Sofia informed her, "And that's why she can't come back. And I think the biggest ghost is you!" she accused. "Because _you_ didn't fight!"

"I fought!" And, in that moment, Arizona was doing just that with her daughter. "I fought! I loved her, and I failed her. Okay? I _failed_ her, Sofia. I tried, and I tried, and I-"

"You didn't try! If you had tried, you'd be together! And we could all live here!"

"I tried," Arizona choked out. "I tried and tried and tried. With everything I had." And, sure, she hadn't had much at the time, but she'd used all she'd had to _try_. To try to keep her true love in her embrace, even though her arms felt like shackles holding them both _down_ rather than close together.

She'd tried. With everything, she'd tried.

Finally, she shrugged hopelessly, almost inaudibly admitting the bitter truth. "It's my fault." It was her fault. She was the one who had ultimately failed them. And Sofia. She was the cause of their daughter's pain.

Silently, Sof just looked at her, too angry to feel compassion for her hurting mom just yet. She was hurting, too.

"Sofia," Arizona surrendered, "I _made_ her want to leave. I was sad, and I was mean, and I only worried about me for a long time. I ruined us."

She closed her eyes briefly, swallowing the lump in her throat. "It's all my fault, sweetie. It's _my_ fault, and I'm so sorry." She bit her lower lip, not wanting her daughter to see her break down entirely. "I'm so sorry."

But Sofia knew, and the brown eyes that were previously filled with her own pain now swarmed with sympathy.

"Mommy..." she began, simultaneously feeling like a tiny little kid again and like she needed to protect her own mother, like she needed to pull her into a tight, protective hug and never, ever let go.

"I tried, Sofia," Arizona reiterated, not wanting her daughter ever again to question how hard she had fought for their family. "I would've done anything for us to stay a family. _Anything_. I did the best I could."

Sofia sniffed, her eyes locked with Arizona's.

"And I'll do my best to find your bunny, too. I promise. I'll come back and look some more tomorrow, and I'll mail her to you as soon as I find her."

At that, Sofia didn't hesitate before wrapping her arms around her mom's neck, hugging her as tightly as she could.

"I love you, Mommy," she declared, inhaling the sweetness of vanilla-scented shampoo—a scent that was so homey and unique to the blonde that it still haunted Sof's mama.

Arizona kissed Sofia's shoulder, holding her as if it were the last thing she'd ever do. "I love you, too."

* * *

In the end, they found Boo. She was soggy and soaking wet from the rainstorm, but they found her.

Sofia was so relieved that she fell asleep as soon as they made it back to the car.

And Arizona was relieved, too. Somehow, that bedraggled bunny had become a symbol for her and Callie's time together, and for their love for their daughter, just as Sofia had always symbolized the love they'd felt once for each other.

The fact that they found Boo after losing all hope made Arizona feel more hopeful about love and life itself, too.

After pulling into the driveway, Arizona turned around in her seat, smiling wistfully at her daughter's perfect, peaceful face. It pained her to wake her, but she just couldn't carry Sof inside on her own; so, with a sigh, she got out of the car and opened Sofia's door, gently waking her.

"Sofia? We're home."

They trudged into the house, and Sof didn't even change into her pajamas—just shed a few layers and fell onto her bed.

"Sweetie," Arizona chuckled, tugging off Sofia's boots. "You need to brush your teeth."

Sofia waved her off. "Too tired. Tomorrow."

"Come on…" Arizona insisted. "Go wash up, and then I'll tuck you in."

"_Fine_," Sofia relented, dragging herself into the bathroom.

When she came back, she caught sight of Arizona lightly fingering Boo, tracing her ears and embroidered black eyes. She turned towards Sof. "You think you can be brave tonight and sleep without her? We should put her in the dryer so she doesn't get moldy."

Sof vigorously shook her head. "I want her!" she insisted, meeting still-swollen eyes.

Arizona offered a somewhat patient smile, toweling the stuffed animal off as best she could, handing her to Sof, and pulled the covers up to her neck. "Okay," she whispered, running her fingers through damp brown hair. "We'll dry her tomorrow."

Sofia grabbed the hand in her hair, holding it in her own to keep her mom from leaving. "Mom?"

"Sof?" Arizona countered cheekily.

Sofia giggled softly, then turned serious. Really serious.

"I think you should tell her."

Immediately, Arizona knew who Sofia was referring to. "Sweetie…" she warned. Why couldn't their daughter see that there was no hope for them anymore?

"Just try!" Sofia pleaded. "You said you tried before, but try again!"

"Sofia, your mama walked away. Twice," she added. "Her life is in New York, and it's been _eight years_. It's more complicated than just saying 'I love you' and expecting that to mean something. Your mama and I…" She sighed. "It's more complicated than you can understand."

Sofia shook her head, refusing to accept that. "You still love her, and I can tell she still loves you. She thinks she never should have left, but she won't move back because of you."

"Sof…" Arizona warned. It really, really wasn't their daughter's place to get in the middle of their own calamities.

"She misses you, and you miss her!" Sofia insisted.

"Sof, we can talk about this another time, b-"

"_You_ be brave," Sofia interrupted fiercely, unwilling to let her mom give up. "You love each other. That's not complicated! You're just scared."

Arizona dropped her shoulders in defeat, staring in awe at her little girl who was kind, smart, and stubborn as hell—just like her and Callie.

But, mostly, Sofia was just smart. Arizona realized she should have expected as much after giving her a name that meant _wisdom_, but she hadn't, really.

Sofia was beyond wise. She seemed to understand life's complexities—love, in particular—even better than Arizona herself.

She wasn't jaded. She wasn't fearful. She wasn't beat down by constant loss.

And she didn't want her moms to be, either.

"What if you knew she felt the same? _Then_ would you say something?"

"I-" Arizona paused, stunned into silence by the mere idea. Finally, she covered. "That's a big 'what if,' honey. Now, come on, you need to sleep."

Sofia pouted out her lower lip, but she didn't argue. She knew she had to have a little patience with her mom—Rome wasn't built in a day, after all; and if her moms did, in fact, still love each other—and she was confident that they did—she knew that their relationship couldn't be rebuilt without some heavy lifting. Even if _she_ was the one who had to do most of the work.

Sofia sat up in bed, pulling Arizona into a long hug, as comforting as warm chocolate chip cookies on a rainy day. And—noting her mom's hesitation to let go a few second later—she wondered, "You want to sleep in here, with me, tonight?"

Arizona smiled softly. Sofia was smart, wise, and full of compassion, too. "Yeah," she breathed. "I do."

* * *

The night Sofia arrived back in New York, she didn't go to bed when she was supposed to. Instead, with Boo in tow, she tiptoed toward the living room, where her mom was reading the New York Times on the couch.

"Mama?" she began, her tone careful.

Callie looked up in surprise. "Sofia. I thought you were sleeping."

Sofia shook her head. "I couldn't."

"What's wrong?" Callie worried. "Is it hard to sleep in a different bed?"

Again, Sofia shook her head. "No. I was just…thinking."

Attempting to read her face, Callie finally set down her magazine and patted the space beside her. "C'mere," she surrendered, allowing Sof to curl up on the couch, rather than in bed, where she should have been. "Now, tell me. What have you been thinking about?"

Sof just nervously bit her lip, providing no answer.

"Sof…?"

Finally, Sofia exhaled a calming breath through her nose. "I've been thinking you should move back to Seattle."

Callie's eyes bulged. "S-"

"I know you said you can't!" Sofia quickly interrupted. "But you _have_ to!"

"What? _Why_?" Callie pressed. What was Sofia talking about?

And Sof only hesitated for a moment before, in one long-winded breath, she betrayed her mom's truths, divulging the details of their tearful conversation.

"No," Callie fought as soon as Sof had finished. She refused to believe it. "No! There's no way she said it was her fault." Their divorce wasn't Arizona's fault in the slightest. _She_ had been the one to give up, not Arizona.

She had once thought her ex-wife had the tendency to bail. She'd dumped her when they'd first talked about having kids, and then she'd gone to Africa.

But Callie acknowledged that she had been the one to walk out on their marriage. She'd bailed. She'd left. She'd given up, without ever expressing how much she regretted making that decision.

She had just moved forward, as if she'd had no other choice. She'd moved on. She'd attempted to find another love, hoping and praying that somehow, someday, someone else might compare.

And, with that hope in mind, she'd moved to New York. And then she'd regretted that, too.

Being away from Arizona—the one person who was more special to her than any other living soul, apart from their daughter—had helped, at first. It had renewed her sanity—though, with that, she discovered how…_wrong_ Penny was. And realizing that had only left her feeling lonelier in the end.

"Mama, can you _try_?" Sofia pleaded, even while knowing it was a lot to ask. She hardly remembered her old house in Seattle, it had been so long.

She knew it was a lot to ask for, but she was asking anyway, because she felt that moving back to Seattle was the right decision. For her _and_ for her moms.

"Sof…" It was crazy, thinking about moving back just because her daughter claimed that _maybe_ Arizona missed her.

Sofia hung her head in defeat, looking down at the bunny in her lap as it blurred, her own eyes smudging with tears. Sure that her hopes were shot, she, almost inaudibly, offered one final thought. "I just want you to be happy."

* * *

Callie didn't need a day to think. She didn't need a week, a month, or a year. Sofia—kind, smart, compassionate Sofia—just wanted her to be happy. She just wanted both her mama and her mom to be happy.

And Callie knew what made her happy: the woman who had been _everything_ to her. The woman who she had left and had missed every day since.

She never stopped feeling that loss.

And she knew she never would, for as long as she lived—not unless she made right what was wrong.

And what was wrong was Arizona thinking it was her fault that they weren't together anymore.

Even more, what was wrong was not _being_ together anymore.

And the idea that Arizona maybe, just maybe, felt the same way was the only thing that had felt truly right in years.

Callie knew exactly what made her happy, and that was Arizona. That was all there was to it.

She just hoped Arizona might somehow feel the same.

* * *

As planned, Callie stood beside Sofia on Arizona's doorstep, in order to drop her off with her suitcases and to say goodbye.

And Callie was, in fact, going to say goodbye—but not for long. Unbeknownst to Arizona, the sum of the brunette's possessions were in the idling taxi.

As soon as she relayed the news of her staying, she planned to head to Meredith's—a place that had become a sort of halfway-house for those in transition.

And she was certainly transitioning. She was transitioning from someone who settled, from someone who deluded herself, from someone who surrendered to the ways of the world, into someone who was eager to right her wrongs in the name of love.

She was taking the first step. She was being brave.

* * *

A few minutes later, after Arizona had drenched Sof in grateful kisses, she looked up at Callie, feeling her stomach somersault at the mere sight of her. "Thank you. For bringing her. And we'll figure out a schedule for her to visit you in Ne-"

"Yeah, about that…" Sofia interrupted, giving her mama a conspiring smile.

Callie looked down, anxiously rolling on her heels, and Arizona knit her eyebrows together.

Callie chanced meeting her eyes, offering a vulnerable little smile. "Actually…I'm not going back to New York."

Arizona's eyes widened.

"Sofia and I talked. About…_a lot_," she continued vaguely, feeling a one-winged sparrow flutter in her stomach at the way Arizona watched her—as if there weren't anything else to see.

Horrified, Arizona turned to their daughter, breath catching in her throat at the implication. She felt her heart bottom out. Had Sof told Callie about everything she'd said? "Sofia…"

"Don't be mad!" Sofia pleaded. "I was right!"

"Right about…?" Arizona wouldn't allow herself to believe it. The possibility of Callie loving her—after so much time—was too good to be true. She fought the seductive idea of letting down her guard and allowing herself to believe it. She wouldn't believe it.

"She was right," Callie confirmed softly, though she regretted breaching the subject at all that night. Clearly, she had caught Arizona off guard, and she hadn't intended to blindside her.

Taking her moms' unblinking stares of silent communication as her cue to leave, Sofia dashed inside, and they hardly even noticed.

Finally, Callie promised, "You never failed me."

Arizona's heart sped up in her chest.

"It wasn't your fault we got a divorce. It was mine."

And then it stalled.

"Callie…"

Callie had intended to wait to have this conversation, but it appeared to be too late to put off. They were talking about it, and they couldn't just stop. "Arizona, you're the love of my life, and I walked away from our marriage," she professed, regret evident. "_I_ gave up."

Arizona shook her head, stubbornly insisting, "I _made_ you give up." She couldn't stand Callie blaming herself.

"It doesn't matter," Callie maintained with a shrug. They might both stubbornly blame themselves, but that wouldn't solve anything.

"The point is: I'm sorry."

Arizona felt her entire body soften, as if her heart and innards were on display. As if she was skinless, free of protection in the cool night air.

The only thing that could protect her was the warm form standing two feet in front of her. But that same form could also be the cause of her unraveling.

"I'm sorry I left. Both times. We were supposed to always be together, but I bailed."

"I wanted you to go the second time," Arizona argued, attempting to take off some of the blame from Callie's shoulders. "I wanted you to be happy."

"I'm not," Callie countered with a tiny shake of the head. "You changed everything I knew about love. You changed everything I knew about…_everything_," she finished, her tone awed. "And, after all this time, you're still the one for me: the only person I want to love."

Feeling a sense of nakedness, she watched Arizona's still face as she digested the words.

Callie was desperate to just kiss her and _show_ her all the love she felt, but she restrained herself. She still didn't feel that she had the right.

"I…" Arizona finally began, pausing at the intensity with which Callie watched her, eyes full of so much hope and expectation.

"It's been a long time, Callie," she finally verbalized, voice low and taut. "And I could never let you go, but." She paused. "I thought you'd forgotten about me."

Thawing at the emotion in Arizona's voice—it was what she had been waiting for: an inkling of care—Callie felt her heart settle. Sofia had been right: Arizona still loved her. And she'd always, always loved Arizona.

"I couldn't remember anything else."

* * *

The following night, it was Arizona who showed up on Callie's—or, well, Meredith's—doorstep.

After a sleepless night of tireless pacing, endless thinking, and bottomless appreciation that Sof was back home at last _and there to stay_, Arizona had digested Callie's words.

Callie loved her. She'd always loved her. She'd blamed herself for eight years for their divorce until, finally, she'd received a sign.

Sofia had forwarded a sign from Arizona, and that was all that Callie had needed. Just the tiniest hint of hope that Arizona loved her.

And Arizona loved her. Callie was, and always would be, her _everything_.

And, when she knocked on the door, it was Callie who answered, eyes wide, lips parted.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Callie stepped outside, gently shutting the door behind her. She stood in front of Arizona, open and waiting.

"You, um," Arizona began. "You said you were sorry for leaving."

Callie nodded. She was. She was so, so incredibly sorry for leaving—both their marriage and Seattle. Giving up on their marriage was her greatest mistake, and her greatest regret.

"And I wanted to say: I'm sorry, too," she continued, ignoring Callie's knitting brows as she explained, "I'm sorry I didn't stop you."

Callie's lips curled up into a poignant smile. "Me, too," she admitted honestly, joking, "It would have saved us a lot of heartache."

Arizona smiled back, as best she could. "It would've." She felt on edge with Callie so close.

Callie's heat radiated towards her, her smell permeating her senses. Arizona could practically taste her. As far as her senses were concerned, with Callie, she was home.

Stalling, she ran her tongue over her bottom lip, watching Callie silently watch _her_, waiting.

The ball was in her court, and she had never been good at tennis.

She was, however, extremely determined to reclaim their love.

"Callie, I…" she exhaled, breath hitching as Callie leaned towards her—just an inch or two closer, but close enough that Arizona no longer could see anything else.

She only saw those soulful eyes, whirpooling nothing but love, and those full pink lips that tempted her.

Suddenly, she forgot what she had been planning to say.

Instead, all that came out were three simple, inadequate words that only hinted at the depth of her feelings. "I love you."

Callie inhaled a sharp breath, the simple expression bringing about a physiological reaction that she felt from tress to toenail. She leaned in closer, desperate to touch. "I love you, too."

Entranced, Arizona leaned in, her eyes closing instinctively. Breathily, she continued, "And I want to kiss you."

Their lips were a hair's breadth away, and Callie felt her heart pound as Arizona's sweet breath brushed her lips. On instinct, her hands came up to soothe over a soft waist, her thumbs automatically stroking Arizona's skin through her shirt, tingling at the feeling.

She'd never felt that with anyone else. Ever.

She watched cerulean blue eyes darken to navy as Arizona broke through the final boundary between them, cupping caramel cheeks with her smooth palms.

Callie watched as Arizona's gaze went back to her mouth, and she licked her lips in anticipation. "Arizona…" The wait was tantalizing.

Arizona eyes flashed back to hers. "I'm never letting you go, again," she vowed, her tone quietly defiant.

Callie's leaned down, brushing her lips against Arizona's, and their eyelids instinctively fell closed.

"I'll only ever go where you are," Callie promised.

And then they were kissing. Really, really kissing. Slowly. Tenderly. Sensually. Deeply.

And, despite their lips' muscle memory, it was an entirely new feeling. It was heart-stoppingly good, and homey, and unlike anything they'd ever felt—not just in the past eight years, but ever.

It was a feeling of true emotion, and belonging, and love.

And they remained wrapped around each other, reacquainting each other, their shapes wavering and bending to fit around each other perfectly, until Meredith threw open the door, bellowing, "CALLIE, DID YOU WANT WINE W-" And then stopping short, jaw dropping, as Callie and Arizona attempted to extract themselves from one another, cheeks burning.

Meredith was thrilled for her friends' good fortune—for their permanent reconciliation—but she didn't say so, just yet. Instead, she smirked, "Never mind. After all _that_, I doubt you're even hungry for dinner." Happily, she shut the door, not wanting to interrupt further.

As soon as she left, Callie and Arizona turned towards each other, eyes and mouths laughing as they released all the pent-up tension that remained: their bodies instead filling with only love.

After they'd recovered, Arizona brushed a piece of hair behind Callie's ear, admitting, "I missed that." Callie still had the best laugh. It was her favorite song.

Callie grinned, her eyes taking in Arizona's super-magic smile, and committing it to memory. "Me, too."

* * *

It was days later—rather than weeks or months—that Callie moved her stuff into Arizona's house.

She and Arizona loved each other, and they didn't have to make their situation more complicated than it needed to be. There was no need to _take it slow!_, to _just date!_, or to _try and see what happens! _They loved each other and wanted to spend every moment they could together, so Callie moved in.

And she didn't even care that the house looked like an Easter basket; she only cared that that it contained her family and _love_.

Her first night there, they put Sofia to bed together.

Filled with energy since her moms had reunited, the eleven-year-old jumped on her bread, the box springs creaking with every bounce.

"Come on, kiddo," Callie insisted, jestingly poking her ticklish side. "Time for bed."

"Nooo!" Sofia protested. "It's summer! I want to stay up with you!"

Arizona yawned. "Believe it or not, we're about to go to bed, too." She had intended on napping after a long surgery that day—and after only getting four hours of sleep the night before—but, when she'd found Callie in the on-call room, she hadn't exactly _slept_ in that bed.

And Callie was exhausted from the busy hustle-and-bustle of Grey-Sloan. She was glad to be back—elated, in fact—but re-familiarizing herself with her old workplace had tired her out.

Sofia plopped down onto the bed. "_Fiiiine_," she acquiesced. Frankly, she would have given into any of her moms' requests. She was just happy that they were together. She pulled her blankets over herself, grabbing Boo from her night table and tucking the bunny safely under her sheet. "I'll sleep."

Callie smiled. "That's our girl." She leaned down, planting a kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Mama."

Arizona then leaned down, placing her lips exactly where Callie's had been a second before. "I love you, sweetie."

"Love you, Mommy."

After shutting off Sof's light, Callie and Arizona walked hand-in-hand into their own room—at least for now. Down the line, they knew that they'd find a house perfectly suited for _both_ of them.

As Callie stood at their bathroom sink, reaching for her toothbrush, Arizona came up behind her, wrapping her arms around the taller woman's middle.

Callie smiled, feeling her own body and soul warm at the simple act of love. "Hi."

Arizona dimpled. "Hi." She nuzzled her nose into the taller woman's shoulder, pleased just to breathe her in. She exhaled a blissful sigh. "You make me so happy, Calliope."

Callie's smile widened, blooming like a rose. "I know," she agreed. "I almost can't believe how happy I've been these last few days, with you. I didn't even know life could feel this good."

Together, they crawled into bed, and Callie wrapped her body around Arizona, heaving a cheerful, albeit sleepy, sigh against the nape of her porcelain neck.

Arizona felt goosebumps line her spine, and she hummed in approval as Callie dropped a warm kiss there.

In a gravelly voice, Callie began, "I forgot how much I missed this." There was no pleasure as simple as falling asleep with Arizona in her arms, and she'd forgotten that.

Eyes still closed, Arizona smiled. "I didn't." She hadn't ever forgotten, and in that moment, she was just happy to finally be able to experience the simple pleasure, once again.

A few minutes later, they were awoken by Sofia as, pillow in hand, she tiptoed into the room, tapping Arizona's shoulder until she stirred and woke up.

"Sof, what is it?" Arizona worried, sitting up in bed. She could hardly open her eyes, still partially in Dreamland.

"Can I sleep in here?" Sof whispered.

Callie let out a low grouse, annoyed by the noise. "What's wrong?" she grumbled, rolling onto her back and rubbing her tired eyes.

Arizona sighed, addressing their daughter's question. "Sure, sweetie. There's room on Mama's other side."

Grateful, Sofia scrambled onto Callie's side of the bed, tucking her pillow under her head and closing her eyes.

"You good?" Callie checked.

Sofia nodded, and Callie turned back onto her side, wrapping her arm around Arizona and hugging her close.

Silently, Sofia scooted towards them, until she wrapped herself around her mama's convex form and lifted her own arm to drape it over both of her moms.

Callie and Arizona smiled through their sleep, feeling like a family at last.

Then, Arizona remembered something. "Wait!" she burst out, eyes snapping open.

"What?" "What?!"

"You forgot Boo," she fretted, knowing Sofia couldn't sleep without her.

But Sofia just shook her head. Shutting her eyes again in total contentment, she tightened her hold on the two people she loved most. "I don't need her. I have you."


	139. Chapter 139

**This one has a happy ending but you have to make it up in your head.**

**Set after Season 12.**

* * *

Arizona was having a tough day. She was upset, and she _knew_ she shouldn't be, which just made her upset with herself, too.

She was struggling and, unfortunately, her coworkers weren't helping.

The truth was, even years after the divorce, her heart still ached on the day of her and Callie's wedding anniversary.

Which, well, happened to be on that very day.

And that would have been _just fine_ if it hadn't been for her friends and coworkers, who had been talking about Callie _all day_.

Apparently, she'd been nominated for a Harper Avery—and rightfully so—and it was all anyone could talk about.

Even Bailey had joined in, animatedly talking up her old friend as she and Arizona performed a Peds surgery—a loooooong Peds surgery. Which meant that Arizona had to listen to talk about how incredible Callie was for a solid five hours—a fact that was already impossible for her to forget.

As they prepared to close and Bailey continued droning on, Arizona finally broke her sullen silence, exploding with, "Bailey, can we _please_ stop talking about her?"

Bailey's eyebrows shot up at her friend's suddenness. She knew Arizona tended to go from zero to one-hundred in a hurry, but she wasn't sure how she'd set the blonde off. "What?"

"Can we just…" Arizona huffed. "Can we talk about something else?"

For a moment, Bailey was silent. But only for a moment. "Robbins…" she began, worry and pity disgustingly evident in her tone.

Arizona couldn't stand it. "What?" she snapped, stubbornly staring into their patient's open abdomen, at the wall clock, at the scrub nurses—at anything but her knowing friend's face.

And it was then that Bailey knew. _She knew_. Arizona unequivocally, undeniably, wholeheartedly still loved Callie.

All at once, everything made sense: her friend's grudging behavior after her divorce, her obvious sorrow in the courtroom, and her selfless decision to give Callie (and Sofia) her blessing to move to New York.

All that, and the funk Arizona had been in since Callie had left.

Everything made sense.

Arizona loved Callie. Of course she did. And, stoically—and maybe a little ignorantly—she hadn't shown it. She had let her ex-wife go, and it had killed her. It still did.

"Arizona…" Bailey tried again, breaking her 'no-feelings-no-nonsense' rule for the sake of her friend's well-being. "She's gone."

Regrasping her forceps to needlessly explore their patient's now tumor-free abdomen, Arizona nodded. "I know."

"And…it's been years."

Again, Arizona nodded. "I know."

"You've gotta move on."

"_I know_," Arizona repeated with a grudging, exasperated sigh.

As gently as she could, Bailey finished, "You need to stop living in the past."

Finally, Arizona looked up, cautiously meeting her friend's eyes as she felt a pinch behind her own. She shook her head. "I can't," she confessed. "It's the only place I can find her."


	140. Chapter 140

**Something quick. Set in the future.**

**P.S. I miss you guys. Leave me some love.**

* * *

"Callie!" Arizona called towards their locked bathroom door. "They're going to give away our table!" She bounced on her toes (as best as she could with a prosthetic leg, anyway), anxious to begin their date at the elegant Italian restaurant nearby.

"Just a sec!" Callie yelled back.

Arizona huffed impatiently, looking at her reflection in their mirror and smoothing her curls and midi red dress.

"Okay, I'm ready, I'm ready," Callie offered with a hint of apology, yanking the bathroom door open and stepping out into their bedroom.

Arizona turned to face her, beginning to exhale "_finally_," when she was stopped short by the sight before her.

Callie was perfect. Wearing a black dress that somehow shone as brightly as her eyes and perfectly accentuated her curvy waist and long legs, she looked stunning—even more so than usual.

As wide blue eyes took her in, Callie looked down at herself, self-conscious. "Is it too much?" she worried. "I mean, you're pretty dressy, too, but since it's black, it might-"

"No." Finally finding her voice again, Arizona put up her hand. "It's not too much."

Callie furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you sure? Cause you looked like-"

"It's not too much," Arizona promised. "You just _literally_ took my breath away."

Slowly, Callie's lips curled up into a wide grin, her pink cheeks flushing with joy.

"Like, I was actually wondering if I'd died and gone to Heaven," Arizona deadpanned.

Callie laughed, noting the way Arizona dimpled at the sound. _God, what love_.

"It's a good thing I'm a doctor, then, huh?" Callie began, sashaying towards the woman she loved. "Because I can't have you dying on me. That wouldn't be good."

Arizona grinned back, always appreciative of their loving banter. "It definitely wouldn't be," she agreed. "I'd miss out on taking that dress off. _And_ on fancy pasta! Which I might miss out on, anyway!" she remembered, fixing Callie with a glare. She was really hungry.

"It's only a ten minute drive!" Callie countered, leaning towards the mirror as she applied her ruby-red lipstick. "I'm just trying to make sure I look my best, here. After all, my date's the most beautiful woman in the world…" she teased, but she wasn't joking. In her mind, there was no one as beautiful and wonderful and dazzling as Arizona.

At that, Arizona blushed. "For the record, I'd argue that _my_ date's the most beautiful." She wasn't sure wen she'd become one of those disgustingly corny, happy, love-stricken women; she only knew that, out of nowhere, it had happened. And that was thanks to Callie.

"Come here," Callie instructed, turning away from the mirror. "I need to blot."

Without thinking, Arizona stepped towards her, only to be _pounced_; Callie grabbed the blonde's face, pressing her lips against Arizona's, then peppering her porcelain cheeks and little nose with kiss after kiss as she blotted off her excess lipstick against soft skin.

"Hey!" Arizona cackled as Callie's lips and hair tickled her. "Callie!"

After Callie was satisfied, she pulled away, fixing Arizona with a satisfied smile. "There."

Arizona just shook her head, stifling a laugh. "I'm scared to look in the mirror."

Callie laughed. "So don't. We've got a reservation to get to, anyway."


	141. Chapter 141

**Something set in the future. Hope it brings you a little joy. I finally had a day off from work! Whoo hoo!**

* * *

"Help me!" Arizona pleaded as she stumbled into the attendings' lounge.

April looked up from the pasta salad she was devouring. "With what?" she wondered, full-mouthed.

"With Callie!" Arizona exclaimed, plopping down on the couch beside her friend.

April gulped down her bite. "You two are fighting _already_?" _They _just_ got back together. How are they already having problems? _she worried.

"No!" Arizona was appalled by the mere idea. They weren't fighting—at least not seriously. They were more in love than ever.

Still, she sighed. "She won't stop telling me stupid puns."

April knit her eyebrows together, laughing, "What?"

"Callie told me a pun last night—a bad one—and, apparently, I made a 'really cute' disgusted face," she explained. "So, now, she won't stop! Apparently, it's cute and she missed it while we were divorced, so now, every time she sees me, she tells me another one just so that I can make that exasperated face and she can laugh at me."

April chuckled. "And I'm supposed to help you how…?"

"Hide me!" Arizona insisted. "I'm hiding from her!"

Clearly, however, Arizona wasn't too good at hiding, because Callie walked into the lounge a few seconds later. "Hey!" she beamed as soon as she caught sight of Arizona. "I thought you'd be here."

Arizona couldn't help but smile back, even despite her mock-annoyance. "Hey!"

April nodded towards her. "What's up?"

Callie sat down in the plush chair across beside the couch, grinning, "I thought of another one."

"Oh, boy," Arizona groaned, looking towards the ceiling (and the god she didn't believe in) for strength. She didn't want to make that 'cute' face, releasing her half-laugh and rolling her eyes; she didn't want to give the woman she loved the satisfaction.

"You ready?" Callie couldn't control the playful smile that took up nearly half her face. "If Trump had won the election last year, we would've all had _toupée_."

She paused for effect.

"Get it?"

And, in response, she was rewarded with the cutest, happiest thing in the world, as Arizona released a tiny laugh and literally face-palmed. Which only made Callie laugh harder at her own joke.

"Admit it!" she insisted. "That one was funny."

Attempting to suppress her smile—but with no success whatsoever—Arizona surrendered, "Fine. It was clever."

"Oh, I have another one!" she blurted. "What do you call a belt made of watches?"

"Oh no," April piped up in preparation.

"What?" Arizona heaved a long, exaggerated sigh, but really, her heart was soaring with love for Callie.

Callie grinned. "A waist of time."

April groaned and, again, Arizona made that face.

"Oh! One more! A bird pun!" Callie quickly regained steam. "What did the bird say to his ex-birdwife and her new bird-fiancé?"

She paused, her eyes flashing with excitement from Arizona's to April's and back again. "'Well,'" she quoted in a deep bird-voice. "'This is hawkward!'"

"Oh my gosh," April groaned again, but Callie and Arizona didn't notice. Their eyes remained fixed to each other's, sharing their own little private joke with wide, lovesick smiles.

Arizona smirked. "You know…" she countered, smirking, "Soon, you might not like your little jokes so much. _Toucan_ play at this game."

Callie threw back her head and laughed. "Well, I do love a _chick_ with a sense of humor," she insisted. And, god, she loved Arizona. "It's good to have someone to _yolk_ around with."

April stood up. "I have to get away from you two. You're so cute that it's nauseating."

Arizona giggled. "Go hang out with somebirdy boring, then!" Puns were more fun than she'd thought.

Callie high fived her, laughing as April glided out of the room in mock-disgust.

Then, she stood up, offering Arizona a quick sweet kiss. "I have to fly. I have surgery. Love you."

Arizona grinned, returning the kiss. "I love you, too."

And, as Callie walked towards the door, Arizona called, "And owl see you tonight!"


	142. Chapter 142

**Set in the future. I love doing these cute lil domestic scenes, btw. So simple, cute, and, like, normal. Which is cool.**

**Also, know that this is also a covert letter (plea) to Shonda Rhimes, in case you miss that.**

* * *

"Finally!" Arizona exclaimed as Callie walked through their bedroom door. "We missed you at dinner. What surgery did you have that took _that_ long?"

"Believe me, I missed you guys, too," Callie grumbled, walking towards the bed where Arizona was reading to offer her a quick kiss.

She began stripping off her clothes, anxious to put on pajamas and relax at last, as she answered her wife's question. "The patient had a tumor in her pelvis that had spread to her bones."

Arizona's eyebrows flew up. "And she's okay?"

Callie made a face. "I wouldn't say that. Who knows what lasting damage she'll have after everything we did. She's alive, though. And, hopefully, the cancer's gone."

She turned to face Arizona. "Is Sof still up? I should probably go say hi and tell her tonight."

Arizona nodded. "I think so." With Callie out of the room, she refocused on the 'New York Times.' She was eager to relax after her own busy day.

When Callie returned to their room after washing up, she collapsed onto the bed, lying her head down on Arizona's thighs and immediately closing her eyes, unable to function any longer.

Arizona smiled, setting her book down on the side-table and beginning to run her nimble fingers through silky black hair, twisting the strands into a loose braid.

"You know," Callie began. "I've decided that this is how I want to die."

Arizona released a confused cackle. "Calliope, what are you talking about?"

Callie moved to lay on her back and looked up at Arizona. "This is how I want to die," she repeated. "Of old age and in my sleep, but right here, on your lap, with you playing with my hair. One day before you, so I'll never have to live without you."

Arizona knit her eyebrows together, not sure whether to be flattered or alarmed that her wife was so morbid. Mostly, she didn't even want to think about Callie ever dying. "I-"

Callie yawned. "Do you ever think about that?" she wondered.

"Well…" Arizona began. "Not really," she admitted. "It's kind of macabre."

Callie groaned, embarrassed, rolling back onto her side and burrowing her face in Arizona's thigh. "I'm tired. You can't take anything I say seriously.

Arizona laughed, tenderly tucking a strand of hair behind Callie's ear. "Should we sleep, then?"

"I suppose," Callie acquiesced, rolling onto the opposite side of the bed to allow Arizona to turn off the bedside lamp and lie down.

She turned back onto her side, meeting her wife's watchful eyes, and Callie's lips curled up into an awestruck smile.

"You are so, _so_ beautiful."

And, despite Callie's former insistence, Arizona knew that those words were ones she _could_ take seriously. Callie meant them; anyone could see that. And, as always, they made her blush.

"So are you," Arizona whispered solemnly. She wrapped an arm around Callie's back, pulling the woman against her.

Callie mirrored her actions, and, soon, they were wrapped around each other, legs and arms intertwined.

Minutes later, shut-eyed, Arizona offered, "I have a different proposal for how we should die."

"Mmm," Callie grumbled, half-asleep. "Tell me."

"Like this," Arizona suggested. "Sleeping in each other's arms, and dying the same night, so that neither of us ever half to live without each other."

Callie chuckled hoarsely. "That sounds like some sort of chick-flick poignant fairytale ending."

"I know," Arizona smiled. "But, after all the drama, thrills, and pain we've had to endure, don't you think we deserve a happy ending?"

"I do," Callie breathed. "So we'll die together when we're in our nineties. Until then, we keep being happy and in love. Deal?" She ran her lips along Arizona's shoulder, breathing her in.

Arizona nodded, then closed her eyes in complete contentment. "Deal."


	143. Chapter 143

**Set in the future. This is awful, and I loved writing it.**

* * *

"Callie!" Arizona called out when she heard the front door open and shut. "You're home."

Callie walked towards the sweet voice, pausing when she reached the dining room.

Seated at the dining room table were April and Arizona, with a platter of nine donuts, _several_ wine bottles, and a big plate of onion rings, of all things, between them. "Um…" _What on earth...?_

"It's Samuel's fifth birthday," Arizona attempted to whisper, though she was too drunk to be even remotely quiet. "April was sad, so-"

"So we decided to drink!" April interrupted, grabbing the stereo's remote from the table and turning up "Sexy and I Know It."

Arizona nodded, then cackled as April began to move in her chair, looking more like she was convulsing from a violent seizure than dancing.

"Oh boy," Callie sighed, taking a seat across from them. She was grateful that their daughter was at a birthday slumber party that night, because her mom was _drunk_. Big time.

She caught Arizona's eye and nodded towards April. "You think this is really helping?"

"IT'S HELPING!" April insisted before Arizona could answer. "I feel good!" She turned towards the blonde. "Don't you feel good?"

"Yeah!" Arizona agreed, then, more quietly, she added, "I feel like I might fall over, though."

Callie chuckled, and Arizona whipped her head around to face her, eyes filling with love. "You're so pretty."

Callie's lips curled up into a wide smile.

Arizona turned towards April. "Isn't my wife _so_ pretty?"

"Yeah," April agreed. "When I first saw you, I was like 'whoa.' You have the best nose, too," she sighed, a little jealous as she remembered her own former yam of a nose. Callie, she'd noted, had that natural beauty she'd always desired but never possessed.

Callie laughed. "Well, thank you, Kepner. I'd always thought that you were just terrified of me, back then."

"That, too," April admitted, picking up an onion ring and drowning it into a bowl of ranch dressing before raising it to her lips.

"Oh," Callie remembered. "What's up with these snacks? Donuts, wine, and onion rings? _Really_?"

"Well, I got donuts because they always help," Arizona explained. "But, then, April said she likes onion rings, so we got those, too!"

Callie felt like she might be sick, and she hadn't even eaten or drunken anything.

"You want some wine?" April offered. "We have more…"

Callie shook her head. "No. Thanks. Better save that for you."

April smiled, as if genuinely touched by her friend's words. "Thanks!" She took a swig straight from the bottle.

"I'm guessing you're sleeping in our guestroom tonight?" she assumed.

April turned to Arizona. "Can I?"

"Of course!" Arizona exclaimed. Somehow, she didn't think April going home was a good idea. She wasn't sure if her friend would even be able to unlock her front door, in the state she was in.

"Yay!" April picked up another onion ring, but as she brought it towards her lips, Arizona stopped her.

"Wait!" Suddenly, she was inspired. Gingerly, she lifted the fried food from her friend's fingers, instead dropping it over her own ring finger as if it were an actual ring.

She looked up at Callie, overcome with excitement.

_Uh oh_, went Callie's internal monologue.

"Calliope." Arizona held up the onion ring, teasing, "I love you. And you're the last person I ever want to say that to-"

"Arizona…" Callie fixed Arizona with a look, half-amused and half plain-old confused.

Arizona grinned. "Will you marry me?"

Playing along, Callie laughed. "Yes, I will marry you."

"Yay!" Arizona cheered, grabbing Callie's hand and insistently shoving the greasy ring onto her finger.

"Hey, I was going to eat that!" April snatched the onion ring and shoved it into her mouth.

Arizona pouted briefly before deciding, "That's okay! We have more."

Callie's eyebrows flew up. "You going to propose to me again?"

Arizona nodded, absolutely giddy. "A hundred times," she decided solemnly.

"We're already married!" Callie complained.

Apparently, that small fact was irrelevant, as Arizona ignored her and turned to April. "Don't eat any more of Callie's rings."

"But I want to eat them!" the redhead bleated.

"Fine," Arizona surrendered. "You can have them after she says yes."

Callie rolled her eyes, but really, she was having fun. It had been a long time since she'd seen Arizona get _this_ drunk, and it was pretty adorable.

"Calliope…" Arizona began again.

"Arizona…" Callie countered cheekily, matching her wife's tone of voice.

"I love you," Arizona declared. "Everything about you."

Callie's smile bloomed like a crocus.

"Especially that," Arizona nodded towards Callie's face, distracted by her blinding smile. "I love that a lot."

"I love you a lot," Callie answered.

Arizona grinned, dizzied by love. She held up an onion ring. "Will you marry me?"

Again, Callie accepted. "Of course."

"Give me that!" April interrupted the moment before Arizona could secure the ring on Callie's finger, dipping it in the ranch and then biting into it.

"It's okay!" Arizona grabbed another onion ring, giggling, "We can do it again."

Callie laughed. "You know I'm only putting up with this because you're so cute, right?"

Arizona dimpled.

* * *

Hours, and about twenty onion ring proposals later, April was passed out in the guest room, and Callie and Arizona were fast asleep in their own bed.

Callie had insisted on proposing to Arizona at least _once_ (out of twenty), placing a ring on each of the blonde's ten fingers.

And Arizona had refused to part with them, so Callie had humored her, allowing her wife to fall into their bed, even with her oily hands.

Apparently, however, she didn't feel the same affection for onion rings when sober; she woke up to grease-stains on her baggy t-shirt and seven still-adorned fingers.

She strode into the kitchen with furrowed brows. _What the hell happened last night?_

Callie smiled when she walked in. "Hey, stranger."

Arizona held up her hands. "Do you have any idea what I'm doing with these on my fingers?"

Callie laughed. "It's a funny story, actually…"


	144. Chapter 144

**Set in the future.**

* * *

A few months after Callie and Arizona moved in together (again), Callie came home late one night to find Arizona lounging on the couch reading, her prosthetic leg resting against the adjacent coffee table.

"Hey, beautiful," Callie greeted. "How was your night?"

Arizona looked up and smiled, then accepted a quick kiss. "We missed you."

"Believe me, I missed you, too." Callie collapsed onto the couch beside Arizona, and the blonde immediately handed the other woman the parts of the newspaper she'd already read.

"Thanks," Callie yawned, turning on the lamp on the other side of the couch. She unfolded the paper, sighing contently as she began to read the local news, happy to sit beside the woman she loved as they each read in silence.

Her focus was short-lived, however, because Callie preferred reading Arizona's face to the weekly news. In fact, she was completely and utterly captivated by the blonde. Dazzled by her. And, before she could stop herself, she leaned forward, smooching a soft cheek before immediately returning to her reading.

Arizona looked up at her, clearly confused, but also pleased, if her shallow dimples were any indication. "What was that for?"

Grinning, Callie shrugged. "I don't know. You're just really kissable."

Arizona giggled, tenderly setting her hand on Callie's thigh. "I love you," she practically sang.

A few minutes later, long after they'd returned to their respective readings, Callie's eyes once again wandered to Arizona's face. And, again, as she took in the effortless beauty of the woman she loved, she felt the need to kiss her.

It was a compulsion, really. It was a howling need, kissing that cheek. So, again, she dropped a quick peck on a porcelain cheek.

That time, Arizona really laughed. "Calliope, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Callie insisted. "Just trying to make up for lost time, here," she explained. "Do you have any idea how long I had to live _without_ kissing you?"

Arizona rolled her eyes affectionately. "I think I might have a vague idea…" She knew exactly how long they'd lived apart from each other in the aftermath of their divorce. Too long.

"Right," Callie recalled, remembering that Arizona certainly hadn't been a fan of their distance, either. Then, she shivered. "It's freezing in here."

"I know," Arizona agreed with a wry smile.

Callie fixed her with a look. "Did you leave the window open so that we'll be forced to cuddle, again?"

Guilty, Arizona shrugged. "Maybe."

Callie shook her head in mock-exasperation as she stood up to close the window; but in truth, she didn't mind one bit, and Arizona knew it.

"You know," Callie began as she turned the window crank. "You could just ask." She grabbed a blanket and headed back towards the couch.

Arizona grinned. "This is more fun."

Callie plopped back down on the couch, settling the white fleece blanket over her and Arizona's legs. She lifted her arm to the smaller woman's back, and Arizona burrowed into her side, her body meeting warmth and softness and curves.

"Admit it," she demanded. "Cuddling's more fun when we're actually cold. That way, we can stay like this for longer."

Comfortable enough to fall asleep, Callie rested her cheek on Arizona's hair and closed her eyes. "Fine," she grumbled. "You win."


	145. Chapter 145

**Something quick + poignant. Set in the future. **

* * *

_I miss you. _

The thought came to Callie, uninvited, while she and Sofia flipped through a box of old pictures. She came across a photograph she'd taken of Arizona nearly a decade before, grinning from ear to ear and holding up her blowdryer, back when they'd moved in together for the first time.

And seeing that smile, that perfect smile on that perfect woman she'd loved so completely, the only thought on Callie's mind was _I miss you._

_I miss you, and I love you._


	146. Chapter 146

**Whoo hoo! Set ten years in the future. Hopefully it's not full of mistakes. Too sleepy to proofread.**

**Leave reviews! Yeah!**

* * *

Ready to escape the rain, Callie fumbled for her house keys. Her twenty-four hour shift had ended the hour before, and she was more than ready to spend what was left of the evening in the warmth of her home, with the people she loved most.

Trudging through the darkened house, her feet dragging, she wondered if Arizona and Sofia had already gone to bed. It was almost midnight, after all. Then, she followed the orange hue that appeared to emanate from the living room. Brows drawn, she followed the soft light.

And, as soon as she saw what waited for her there, her lips broke into a wide smile. Arizona and Sofia were snuggled up on one of the couches, each reading her own book.

They looked up at the sound of heels clacking against the hardwood floor as Callie approached them.

Arizona smiled, letting out a "Hey," that clearly meant _I'm so in love with you, you're so beautiful, you're the most amazing woman I've ever known_.

"Hey." Callie leaned down, thumb reverently tracing an ivory cheek as she greeted her wife with a kiss.

"Hi, Mom." Sofia looked up from _The Scarlett Letter_, and Callie gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"You didn't have to wait up for me."

"We wanted to," Arizona insisted, making room between her and Sofia. "Join us."

That was exactly what she needed, but first: "Let me just go put on some PJs." She turned to Sofia. "Don't you have school tomorrow?"

Sofia shook her head, grinning, "School Holiday. It's an in-service day for teachers or something."

A few minutes later, Callie collapsed on the couch, immediately wrapping one arm around Arizona and the other around Sofia. She released a satisfied sigh, appreciating just how sweet life was.

"I am so lucky," she decided. "I've got the two most incredible girls in the world."

Arizona felt her skin line with goosebumps as Callie ran her hand down her back. She shivered.

"I have the best wife," Callie continued, "And the kindest, most thoughtful daughter." She poked Sof's ticklish ribs, making her giggle.

"Well, you're half right," Arizona argued slyly. "We _do_ have the best daughter, but _I _have the best wife in the world."

Callie blushed, and Sofia groaned at her mom's corniness, watching both women look at each other as if, for a moment, there was no one else in the world.

"I should go to bed," she decided, shutting her book.

"Oh, come on!" "We're not that bad!"

Sofia laughed. "I'm just tired and bored of this stupid book," she promised, gesturing to the AP English classic.

Arizona made a face. "I didn't like that book, either."

"Sleep well, sweetie," Callie said. "We love you!"

"Night! Love you!" Sofia called behind her, already walking towards her room down the hall.

In the new comfortable silence of the room, Arizona covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a yawn.

"Are you tired?" Callie worried. "We can g-"

Even as she yawned a second time, Arizona shook her head. "No, I'm good." She knew that, as tiring as twenty-four hour shifts were, they also left doctors wired for a few hours afterwards, especially on rainy days full of trauma. She wanted to stay up with her wife until Callie was ready to sleep.

"Here." Callie moved away from Arizona, towards the other end of the couch. She grabbed a pillow, setting it down on her thighs, then patted it. "At least rest."

Arizona shifted her position and laid down her head, not having the energy to argue. She closed her eyes. "See? _I_ have the best wife."

Callie chuckled, and Arizona smiled as she felt the vibration. Seconds later, Callie lifted her hand, running her fingers over blonde hair and then down a slender back. Arizona _mmm'ed_ in approval.

"You know," she began, grabbing for Callie's hand, bringing it to her lips, and planting a soft kiss against the back. "I wouldn't describe us as lucky."

Callie knit her eyebrows together, frowning, "What?" She tried to pull her hand away, but steadfast Arizona held on tight.

She turned onto her back so that she could look at Callie. "We worked for this," she clarified. "We're not just together because of luck."

Callie nodded in understanding.

"I mean, we suffered through a plane crash, and getting divorced, and living across the country from each other," she continued, lacing their fingers together. "We worked to get back together. We worked to deserve each other."

Callie looked at their intertwined hands, feeling a warmth in her chest that never abated in Arizona's presence. "You're right."

Arizona dimpled, shyly whispering, "I work for you, Callie Torres."

Callie laughed, capturing her wife in a searing kiss. "God, me too," she agreed. "And you're so worth it."


	147. Chapter 147

**Okay, no lie, this was inspired by a date I went on except this is romantic-er.**

**Leave me reviews!**

* * *

Since Callie had returned to Seattle—_for good_—and since she and Arizona had begun spending time together again, their relationship had changed. Big time.

No longer did they talk to one another or spend time together as a family purely due to a sense of obligation or "for Sofia." In fact, since Callie had come back, they often had spent time together on their own, and out of genuine desire.

Together, they were moving on from the past and creating something new. Once, their relationship had been fun, and then loving, and then stressful, and then blissful, and then _hard_ for far too long.

Like everything in life—like them—their relationship had changed and transformed. Recently, it had become slower. More playful. And, as always, beautiful, regardless of which form it took.

Since Callie had returned to Seattle, there was no anger left to express. There were no apologies to give. Just forgiveness, time, affection, and kindnesses. They were creating something new. And better.

So far, they had been taking things slow. They had made very slow, tentative steps toward one another. Even though both Callie and Arizona were confident that their feelings were requited, they were timid. Each woman, heart fluttering with love and desire, waited anxiously for the other to make a move. In the meantime, they rekindled their respect, fascination, and adoration for one another, on a purely platonic basis.

Because, as much time as they had spent together during the past few weeks, it had been years since they'd touched. And, finally, they had both admitted to themselves: they were meant to be together. Mind, heart, soul, _and_ body.

But, still, neither woman made a move. Not yet.

* * *

"So, what do you want to do?" Arizona handed Callie a glass of red wine as she plopped down on the opposite end of the couch.

Callie took a sip, already feeling a sense of warmth spread through her limbs. She guessed that was more due the fact that the woman she loved—and was attracted to, limitlessly—was a mere two feet away from her than the alcohol, but the wine certainly heightened the feeling. It might serve to lower her inhibitions, too.

Answering the blonde's question, Callie made a face. "I don't know." With Sofia asleep upstairs, they no longer could focus on anything but each other—which was good. Mostly. It just also meant that she was terrified because it was dark, it was late, they were _so close_, and she wanted Arizona even more right then than she ever had before.

Finally, she suggested, "We could talk?"

Slowly, Arizona's lips curled up into a wry smile. "What do you want to talk about?" she pressed, needing prompting. Personally, all _she_ wanted to talk about was how much she wanted Callie, but she was too fearful to say that.

Swallowing the compulsion to close the distance between them and plant a reverent kiss on each of those full dimpled cheeks right then, Callie pursed her lips. "We could…play truth or dare?" She raised a playful eyebrow, hoping to conceal her self-consciousness.

Arizona laughed. "Calliope, we're not in high school."

"I know," Callie defended. "But…" She shrugged, suddenly bashful. "I want to get to know you, again. And the game makes it easy. We can just…ask what we want to know."

"That's true," Arizona relented, feeling her heart fill with love at the way Callie blushed. Her face was as red as the wine.

Fighting the urge to reach out and wrap her arms around the taller woman, Arizona softened, "Okay. I'll go first. Truth or dare?"

Callie's brows flew up.

Expectantly, Arizona waited.

"Um…" Callie cleared her throat. "Truth."

Arizona bit her lip, thinking of a question. She decided to start simple, asking a question she realized she might not know the answer to, anymore. "What's your favorite food?"

Callie didn't even have to think before she answered. _Simple_. "Razzis Pizza."

Surprised, Arizona blinked at her. "Still?" she wondered. That had been the pizza place she had introduced Callie to on their first night together. It had been her place, and it had become _their_ place.

Callie nodded. "Always." That had never changed. The pizza had always made her think of Arizona. And of so many good memories.

Arizona smiled, oddly touched by the simple statement.

"Your turn," Callie decided, fixing her attention to the blonde. "Truth or dare?"

Arizona turned her entire body toward her in preparation. "Truth," she decided solemnly.

Callie crossed her arms in concentration, wanting to think of a good question. Finally, she decided on a tougher one. "If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?"

Arizona considered that for a second, then confidently replied, "I wouldn't." Finally, she had come to terms with everything. Even her missing leg. It was part of her. It was part of what made her who she was.

"Well," she amended after a minute, chuckling, "I might get rid of my authority issues or stubbornness…"

Callie shook her head, laughing along with her. "You're not allowed to. Those are some of my favorite things about you. And that was a good answer," she added, turning serious. "Don't change anything."

"Well, it's not like I have a choice, anyway," Arizona countered. To hide her widening smile, she took a sip of wine, holding it up to her lips for a few extra seconds.

"Truth or dare?"

Callie straightened up. "Truth."

Arizona's azure eyes scanned her face, her stomach swelling with butterflies. She attempted to smother them, but still, her voice wavered a little when she asked, "What's been the best thing about this year?"

Meeting her intent, heart-stopping gaze, Callie told the truth. "Coming home. Making the decision to come back and be…where I belong." Shyly, she smiled. "This feels right." She might as well have just come out and said _I'm madly in love with you_.

Arizona nodded. "It does," she breathed. Almost inaudibly, she added, "It feels _really_ right." And it did. Callie there, in her house, on her couch, in her space, in her every thought, felt right. For once, she felt like she was where she belonged, too. And, for once, home actually felt like home. With Callie, she was home.

"Truth or dare?"

Arizona shook her head as if clearing it. "Dare," she decided, hoping for something good. _Maybe she'll dare me to be honest with her about how I feel_, she hoped. She just needed a little push.

"I, um," Callie paused. There were a lot of dares she wanted to make: _I dare you to want me. I dare you to keep wanting me. I dare you to love me, and keep loving me, and keep loving me, and keep loving me. Forever. _Instead, dully, she offered, "I dare you to tell me a joke."

Arizona gave her a look. That so hadn't been the dare she'd been hoping for. "Seriously?"

"Why not?" Callie countered, attempting to quell her crushing desire with humor. "You know I love jokes!"

"Fine," Arizona surrendered, chuckling. "Let me think." Callie was just as nervous as she was. She could see that then.

But, deciding to play along, she sat leaned against the back of the couch and closed her eyes.

Callie watched her, feeling her own heart flutter in her chest. It would've been so easy just to close the distance…

Finally, Arizona opened her eyes. "Okay," she decided. "Sofia told me this one the other day."

Callie playfully slapped her hand over her face. "Oh, no," she groaned. "Now I'm worried." Sofia, like her, was known to tell some pretty horrendous jokes. Cute as they were, they were corny.

Arizona affectionately rolled her eyes. "You'll love it, trust me." She paused. "Okay. Why can't you hear the pterodactyl in the bathroom?"

Tentatively, Callie prompted, "Why…?"

Arizona grinned. "Because his pee is silent."

"Oohhhh," Callie groaned, laughing. "That's terrible."

Arizona laughed, too.

"_Really_ terrible."

"I know," Arizona agreed. "I love it."

Callie grinned, momentarily lost in the moment. The way Arizona looked at her…

"Okay," she straightened up a second later, recentering herself. Whether or not she or Arizona were brave enough to make a move that night, she was suddenly confident that it would happen _sometime_. They had a connection. They had chemistry. They were obviously attracted to each other. Big time. She could see how much Arizona wanted her. She could read it in her cyanic eyes. "My turn again."

"Okay," Arizona breathed, perusing flawless caramel face, her body tingling when she met those big brown sex-eyes. "Truth or dare?"

Refusing to even blink, Callie decided, "Dare." There. She had given Arizona an invitation. She could only hope that Arizona would accept it. Hoping.

Hoping.

Instinctively, Arizona's eyes focused on Callie's pillowy lips, and she licked her own.

Callie gulped.

Breathless with desire, Arizona forced her gaze back up to meet browns. "I dare you…"

Callie subconsciously leaned closer.

"I dare you to kiss me."

One beat.

Then: "_Finally_," Callie breathed, surging forward and cradling Arizona's neck in her smooth, gentle hands. She lowered her mouth to delicious pink lips at the exact moment she heard Arizona's breath hitch in her throat, two porcelain arms encircling her waist and yanking her closer, both women ravenous.

And then, a minute later, Arizona was leaning away from her, and Callie was receptive enough to pull back herself, worrying, "What's wrong? Did you not…Should I not-"

Immediately, Arizona was shaking her head, desperate to put an end to Callie's panic. "I just want to…" She trailed off, opting instead to show the brunette what she wanted to do.

She pulled up her loose pants above her knee so that she could expertly remove the prosthesis that hampered her movements and couldn't bend the way a normal leg would.

Callie knit her eyebrows together, her eyes flashing between Arizona's hands and face until the prosthetic leg was carefully placed on the carpet below. "Are you okay?" she worried.

Arizona nodded, pushing Callie back and grabbing a throw-pillow as she climbed over her. I'm good," she promised, straddling her—resting her left thigh on the pillow for balance, the other leg bent and flush against Callie's hip and thigh. She looked up into warm brown eyes, hoping to still see that fire reflected in them. "Now, I'm good."

And, immediately, Callie's hands found the dough of Arizona's ass, pulling her body tightly against her own as they shared a searing kiss.

It had been weeks of sexual frustration while they had reconnected emotionally, months of misguided distance before that, and _years_ of denial about how they felt about each other.

They were mad about each other. And with Arizona's simple dare, all that love and desire and madness had surfaced.

Finding the hem of the brunette's shirt, Arizona flattened her palms against her hot, bare, tanned spine, moaning at the way Callie pulled her in closer, those strong hands kneading.

Callie's mouth devoured the sound—and, god, those lips—absolutely engorged with desire. She was lost in her love, and desire, and feeling of home-ness, lost in Arizona's control, consuming caresses, and kisses, all suction.

As the fire ignited between her legs, it was only automatic, the way Arizona began grinding down against Callie's lap. It didn't matter how slow they had been taking things, or how slowly they had intended to go—she wanted Callie as much as Callie wanted her, and that was all she cared about.

Drunk on kisses, her body vibrating, Callie's wanton hands ran over Arizona's back, her shoulders, her neck, and finally landed on her cheeks, pulling away just enough to catch her breath.

She stared at Arizona as her half-lidded eyes refocused, and their sweet breaths mingled as they looked and looked at each other.

Callie's thumb traced down a smooth cheek as she breathlessly whispered, "Truth or dare?"

Arizona looked at her, confused, but she played along. "Truth."

Callie's tingling hands found a lithe waist, resting there and keeping her grounded. "Do you love me?"

Arizona's breath shuddered out. She was vulnerable in every sense of the word. Naked. But she trusted Callie. She trusted Callie with her love. And with her vulnerability. And with everything else.

A hint of a smile graced her lips, and she nodded. "I do."

Callie could have burst into birdsong, but instead, she just smiled, vowing, "I love you, too."

Arizona dimpled, her heart threatening to fly away in its rapture. "Truth or dare," she countered.

With a gleam in her eye, Callie braved: "Dare."

Between kisses peppered on deliciously smooth, endlessly warm, neck and jaw, Arizona verbalized, "I dare you to keep loving me."

Solemn, Callie met sapphire eyes, and she nodded almost imperceptibly.

With her eyes fluttering shut, Arizona leaned in, capturing full lips in a kiss. And, in that moment, everything that they hadn't said—everything that could never be said—was said: with the mouths, lips, fingers, legs, hands, scents, and touches of skin.

Both women knew they would keep loving each other, dare or not. They would spend the rest of their lives together. It was a choice they had made long ago—a vow they had made to one another—and, more than ever, it was destined to happen.

They knew it was true.

They were made for each other.


	148. Chapter 148

"_Arizona_," Callie breathed as soon as her ex-wife picked up the phone.

"Callie?" Arizona rubbed the sleep from her eyes, forcing herself out of dreamland. It was late in Seattle. Too late to call. And certainly too late to call from the other side of the country.

"What's wrong? Is Sofia okay? Did something h-"

"She's fine," Callie promised, although her voice was tight, revealing her own stress. She took a calming breath, attempting to soften her voice. "She's fine."

"Okay…" Arizona knew that something was still wrong. Why else would Callie call her? "Are _you_ okay?"

"What? Oh, I'm…" Callie looked down, fingering her sweats' tattered string. She _was_ okay. She was happy, even. She liked her job. She liked New York. She liked living in a high-rise apartment that overlooked the park with her favorite little person in the world. She liked focusing on herself and on her career instead of on love, for a change. She liked the self-assurance she had gained.

Everything was perfect. Except…

Except for one thing. One monumental thing.

"Callie…?" Arizona worried when Callie didn't answer. She leaned down, half-reaching for her prosthetic leg, ready to get on the next flight to New York if she had to.

"Arizona, I'm…thinking about you," Callie finally admitted, her voice soft and breathy in her vulnerability.

Instantly, Arizona's felt her heart speed up in shock and surprise and who knew what else.

On the other side of the line, Callie listened to Arizona's suddenly shallow breathing, waiting for a reaction.

She waited. She counted the seconds. Ten. Twenty. Thirty. Forty.

Her eyebrows furrowed. She would have figured that, maybe, the connection had been lost, but she could hear Arizona's uneven breathing in her ear, letting her know that the blonde was still there.

"Arizona?"

She waited.

Finally: "_Callie_," Arizona began. She sounded tired—defeated, almost. It was far from the response Callie had hoped for. "What am I supposed to do with that?

Callie balked. "I…"

"I mean, you can't just _say_ that!" Arizona insisted. "Callie, it's 3a.m. for you, and you're there, and I'm here, a-a-and-"

"What else can I say?" Callie countered.

And, to Arizona's surprise, Callie's question sounded genuine, rather than combative. Callie was saying that she was thinking about her, and that's all there was to it.

So Arizona's response was softer than it would have been otherwise.

"I don't know," she sighed. "But you can't…" She trailed off. "I don't know."

"I know it's three in the morning," Callie surrendered, her voice gentle as a caress. "I know it's late, Arizona. And I know that I'm here, and you're there, and I shouldn't be thinking about you, but…I am. I'm here, thinking about how much I want you. And it's not the first time."

Again, Arizona felt her heart speed up, and she wished she didn't know why. But she did. Because she and Callie had always been right together. They had always complemented each other and completed each other. And maybe they each could find something with someone else that sorta kinda compared, if they _really_ tried to convince themselves, but it was never the same. Nothing was ever the same.

"Calliope…" Arizona breathed something between a plea and surrender.

Callie's heart lurched. Goosebumps rose like braille on her arms and legs and solar plexus.

"I want to come home to you," she admitted. "And I want to be 'home.' To you."

"You always have been," Arizona swore. "You know that."

Callie's lips curled up. "I guess I do," she admitted. "But you're home for me, too."

"_Yeah_," Arizona breathed. "_Home_. You and I, with our arms around each other." She shivered involuntarily, aching to feel those strong arms around her then.

Callie felt her stomach do somersaults.

"But…" Arizona took a breath. "Do you mean it, Callie? Thinking about me is one thing, but coming home—being together—is big. I'll all in if you are, but if not…"

Callie waited, but when Arizona didn't continue, she promised, "_I'm in_. I'm in. I just…I want it all with you. I want everything I thought was too hard. I want _you_." She looked down, quietly adding, "I'm scared to say the stronger word. But I feel it. Now more than ever."

"What I feel for you…" Arizona smiled. "Love's almost too harsh of a word for it. But I love you, Callie. Even now. Even at three in the morning. Even after so long. I love you more every day."

Callie felt a warmth in her chest. It was something she hadn't felt in a long time. Not since the first time Arizona had said she loved her. And never with anyone else.

She smiled. "You do?"

After letting out a small chuckle, Arizona nodded softly. "I do."

Feeling as if she might fly away, Callie inhaled a sharp breath. She exhaled it slowly, hanging onto the moment that felt like the beginning of their forever together.

"I love you, too."


	149. Chapter 149

**Procrastinating on homework today. Please let me know what you think of this one! Thanks so much for the reviews and comments!**

* * *

"Callie?" Penny prompted one night, as they lay side-by-side in bed with three feet of empty space between them. "Are you ever going to tell me what's going on with you?"

With her eyes already shut, Callie stiffened. Silently, she decided whether or not to pretend she was asleep.

"I know you're awake."

Callie sighed as she rolled onto her back and then onto her side to face her girlfriend. She supposed she owed Penny that much.

Penny searched her girlfriend's rich brown eyes, desperate for an answer. "What's going on with you? I feel like things have been off since we got back from Italy."

Callie nodded. That was true.

"Did something happen? I thought we had fun."

"We did," Callie quickly assured her. "I mean, at least I did."

Penny smiled a little. "I did, too." But, still, she didn't feel any better. "So what's _wrong_?"

Callie exhaled a shaky breath, preparing herself to reveal the truth—something she wasn't sure that her girlfriend would want to hear.

"Callie…? Please, just-"

"We went to Italy together," Callie blurted out.

Penny's eyebrows furrowed. Then, slowly, she nodded.

"We both took off two weeks from work so that we could go to Italy together—just the two of us."

Penny waited.

"We went to one of the most romantic places in the world!" Callie continued. "It felt like a honeymoon or something."

"So what's the problem?" Penny beseeched, more confused than ever.

"Penny…" Callie breathed. "I just…It's not that there's a 'problem.' It's just that, when we got there, we didn't spend any time together. You did your thing and I did my thing."

"Well…you know I don't love history, and you're not a huge fan of opera, so-"

"I know!" Callie exclaimed. "I'm not saying that I minded being apart. The trip was great. We both loved it."

"So what's the problem?" Penny wondered again.

Callie shrugged, feeling helpless as she admitted the truth. "The problem is that we didn't _mind_ being apart. And it's not supposed to be like that."

Penny felt her throat go dry, and she unsuccessfully attempted to swallow the bile in her throat. "What are you saying?"

Callie offered her a tender, sad smile. "You know what I'm saying. It's not working. We're not working. We're supposed to want to be together all the time. And we don't."

Penny felt her eyes well up with tears, and Callie reached out to take her hand. "You know I'll always care about you," she promised, "but…as happy as we've been together, we deserve more than this. We deserve not to settle for each other. Don't you think we deserve more?"

Penny sniffled.

Callie continued, "Penny, you deserve someone who never wants to be away from you if she doesn't have to be, and you should find her. And…I should…" She trailed off, not knowing _what_ she should do.

"You should find your person, too," Penny finished for her after a moment of silence. "The woman—or man—you don't want to be away from. Someone who minds being apart from you."

* * *

xx

That was three months before and, since then, Penny and Callie had officially parted ways; Penny moved to a smaller apartment in New York, and Callie did something brave: she moved home.

And she had been prepared to endure snide comments from her old coworkers, since she had impulsively moved with her resident (ex-)girlfriend to New York (and for _what_?), but instead, all her friends were only happy that she was back.

And she enjoyed catching up with everyone: with Bailey, Meredith, Alex, Owen, and Sofia, of course, who she hadn't seen since she started living with Arizona a few months earlier.

But, to her surprise, the person Callie loved to spend time with most was Arizona herself. In fact, Callie longed to be with her all the time.

* * *

xx

She saw Arizona rounding the corner of the hallway and couldn't help but smile. "Hey, stranger," she called.

Arizona whipped her head toward the sweet voice and instinctively smiled back.

She walked toward Callie. "It's officially your third week back. Are you missing New York yet?"

"Well, I _do_ miss knowing that there's such a thing as the Sun," Callie joked, "but, otherwise, no. This is home."

Arizona smiled. "Well. I'm glad to hear it." And, in truth, Seattle had felt more like home to her, too, since Callie had come back. _But it's not like I can ever _say_ that_, she reminded herself. She turned to go.

Then Callie stopped her. "Arizona?"

Arizona stopped short, her heart fluttering in the same way it always had when Callie said her name—even so many years later. "Yeah?"

Callie looked at her feet. "I, um…" She forced herself to meet prodding blue eyes. "I know Sofia's going to Hazel's sleepover party tonight, so I was wondering, if you're free, if you might want to come over?"

Arizona's eyes widened.

"We could catch up a little more. Or something." _Why do I feel like I'm asking her out on a date? _Callie wondered to herself_. I'm not_. "Unless you're busy. Then you can just-"

"I'd like that," Arizona assured Callie before her ex-wife could panic.

And so they had dinner together. And then they had dinner again the following Friday. And then that Sunday. And then the following Tuesday. And then Callie began to feel somehow less happy and less complete during the nights they spent apart.

And that's what she was thinking about that Friday night as she sat on Arizona's couch while the blonde put their daughter to bed: how much she hated being apart from Arizona and how much she valued their nights together.

Arizona came back into the room and paused momentarily, taking a moment just to look at Callie, silently admiring her beauty, before she was noticed.

Callie pulled herself out of her reverie and caught Arizona's eye, noticing her staring. "What?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious.

"Nothing." Arizona blushed and turned away, busying herself with tidying up the already tidy kitchen.

Callie stood up and strode over to the counter, resting her elbows on the cold marble and watching her ex-wife scrub the sink with a sponge. "I can do that," she offered.

Arizona shook her head. "I don't mind." They were silent for a minute, with Arizona scrubbing and Callie watching her. Then, Arizona shut off the sink. "Do you want some more wine?"

Callie pursed her lips. "I, um." She paused. What she _really_ wanted was to ask a question.

"Did you ever...mind that I was gone?"

Arizona's head snapped up, and she looked at Callie in confusion. _Why is she asking me_ that_?_ she wondered.

But, before she could answer, Callie was already backtracking, worried that it had been an impulsive, inappropriate question. "I mean, I know you were dating other people while I was in New York, and I know that—except for missing Sofia—it probably didn't make a difference to you, since we didn't really hang out, anyway, but-"

She paused. _WHAT AM I DOING?_ she panicked. _This was a bad idea_.

"I actually think more wine might be a good idea," she decided. Callie headed back to where their glasses and the bottle sat on the coffee table, wondering, "Do you want some?"

Arizona followed her, thoughtfully considering Callie's strange question and mood. Her ex-wife was oddly less direct than she had been in the past. In fact, she wasn't only less direct; she was awkward.

_She's nervous_, Arizona realized suddenly.

And, as much as that realization shocked Arizona, it also pleased her. Because she had felt her palms sweat and her heart speed up when she had sat beside Callie earlier that evening, and she felt that same anxiety—that same anticipation that her ex-wife had always managed to arouse—now.

Callie sipped her wine without meeting Arizona's eyes, not wanting to make the blonde uncomfortable or embarrass herself any further. In an effort to change the subject, she wondered, "What are you doing this weekend?"

But, to her dismay, Arizona only continued to look at her without answering the question.

Finally, she decided to answer Callie's earlier question—one that continued to echo in her mind: _"Did you ever...mind that I was gone?"_

"Callie, I wasn't allowed to mind," Arizona admitted. And, this time, it was her turn to explain herself.

She looked into surprised and receptive brown eyes and continued, "I encouraged you to go to New York from the start because that was what you wanted. And I had no right to tell you that I didn't want you to go or even to let myself think about why Seattle suddenly felt so empty after you left."

Callie's waited, eyes wide.

"I mean, come on," Arizona sighed, defeated. "We weren't girlfriends or wives or even friends. You were always my person…or whatever. So I thought we'd stay friends after the divorce, but…" She trailed off. Callie knew the rest of it. They hadn't managed to stay friends. Instead, they'd taken each other to court.

"_I wanted to_," Callie agreed softly. "I wanted to be friends. But every time I saw you after the divorce, I still wanted to wrap my arms around you and hold you and protect you—and not like a friend. I could never _just_ be your friend."

"Right," Arizona breathed, glad to know for certain why their relationship had dissolved post-divorce. She had never been able to just be Callie's friend, either.

Callie tried to smile.

"But, to answer your question," Arizona continued, "I always mind. Being away from you. I know I can live a long, happy life without you, or with someone else, but…everything just is better when you're here. With me."

Callie's smile broadened, and she felt her heart begin to beat faster. Gently—almost timidly—she lifted a shaking hand to tuck a loose strand of blonde hair behind Arizona's ear. She kept her eyes on Arizona's face and watched blue eyes shut and heard her breath catch, almost inaudibly.

"You know, since coming back, I've finally admitted to myself how I always kept you with me," Callie began, offering her own confession. "In New York, whenever I had a good slice of pizza, I couldn't help but think about how much you'd like it. And, even in Italy, I kept thinking about all the places you'd love if we ever went there together."

Arizona's lips curled up into a small smile, and she looked into Callie's face, unblinking.

"You were allowed to miss me. To mind my being gone, and us being apart," Callie whispered. "Because I did. I missed you." She paused, looking down and fiddling with her hands that lay on her lap. "I still do."

Arizona followed Callie's eyes then reached out, stilling two soft hands with one of her own. "You don't have to miss me." Her other hand reached out to caress Callie's cheek, and her body began to tingle with warmth. "I'm right here."

Callie released a shaky breath, wanting more than anything to wrap her arms around Arizona and never let go, but first wanting to make sure that her ex-wife knew that she meant what she said. "Arizona," she breathed. "I mean it. I want to be _with_ you. I don't want to be apart, anymore. And I need you to know that, even with everything, I never for a second stopped wanting you to be there with me."

"Calliope…" Arizona exhaled. And, overcome with years of ache and want, she ducked her head, offering her own loving response as she captured full lips in a searing kiss that began to heal years of separation.

Callie wrapped her arms around Arizona's back, pulling the blonde closer as the smaller body fit perfectly in the curves and hollows of her own body. Each woman surrendered to true love as two pairs of inexhaustible hands re-explored bodies and re-activated each nerve ending, smiling even more than they were actually kissing.

Finally, realizing that they were no longer sitting and she now lay on the deep couch with Arizona practically on top of her, breast-to-breast, Callie pulled back to catch her breath.

Arizona looked down at Callie, dimpling at the sight of her drunken expression before she leaned down and pressed a feather-light kiss on each closed eyelid. Callie smiled as soft hair tickled her nose and lips, and her palms moved up over Arizona's sides.

"You know…" Callie whispered once Arizona pulled back, inhaling the sweet scent of her breathing. "I really wouldn't mind staying like this for a while."

Arizona dimpled, playfully wiggling her hips a little as she got comfortable between Callie's legs. She felt Callie's hands instinctually clutch her more tightly as Arizona briefly rubbed their bodies together. "You wouldn't mind, huh?" she teased.

Callie, momentarily burying her primal physical desires and joking façade, brought her hands up to tenderly cradle Arizona's face. "No. I wouldn't mind. And what I mean by that is I love you," she continued with utter seriousness. "And I want to hold you, and touch you, but I really don't care what we do. As long as we're together."

Arizona blushed at the overwhelming devotion in Callie's voice, and she leaned down for a warm, somehow familiar kiss. "I know what you meant. And we can do it all. Together."


	150. Chapter 150

**If you read this, then please let me know what you think! Thanks in advance for your review!**

* * *

As Arizona put on her bra one morning as she and Callie got ready for work, she heard a strange sniffling sound. Half-dressed, she looked over at Callie in confusion and noted her ex-wife—or, well, _her_ _soulmate_—sniffing the skin of her arm with a strange intensity.

Ariziona tried to ignore it at first, but then it continued: Callie sniffed her other arm. And then her shoulder. And then she grabbed a handful of her sleep-disheveled hair and sniffed at that, too.

Finally, Arizona couldn't help but chuckle.

Callie's head shot up, and the corners of her mouth rose at the sound of Arizona's laughter. "What?" she wondered, half amused and half self-conscious.

"Calliope, what are you _doing_? I've been watching you sniff yourself for five minutes."

Callie blushed. "It hasn't been five minutes," she grumbled defensively. It had been two, _maybe_. "And I wasn't sniffing _myself_."

Arizona raised her eyebrows. "Could've fooled me," she teased.

Callie playfully rolled her eyes.

"Care to explain?" Arizona encouraged, walking toward her. When she could feel the heat of their bodies mixing in the tiny space between them, she tilted her head up for a quick kiss.

Callie hummed in contentment at the feel of Arizona's lips on hers, then she sighed in resignation as the blonde pulled away, those intense blue eyes fixed on her face. "Well…" she began, looking down. "I was smelling _you_."

Callie risked meeting Arizona's gaze and immediately realized she needed to expand further.

"This happened when we first got together, too," she explained. "After a few weeks of sharing a bed, my skin started to smell like you. And sometimes I would just be walking around or doing a surgery—or that time I had to give that speech, remember?—and I'd catch a tiny whiff of your scent on me and feel better."

Arizona's lips began to bloom into a wide, wondering smile as Callie reminded her again of how much they had always loved each other.

Callie shrugged. "It made me feel like you were always with me, even when you weren't. And now it's happening again," she continued, inhaling her forearm for emphasis and nodding a little in satisfaction. "We're together again, and we're sharing a bed again, a-"

"And I'm so happy," Arizona practically sang before Callie could continue. She instinctively closed the little space left between them and cradled Callie's soft cheeks in her hands, breathing her in and planning to _keep_ breathing her in—forever. "You…" she exhaled, shaking her head a little, overcome with emotion. "You make me _so_ happy. You know that?"

Callie nodded, grinning. Then she pulled Arizona in for a kiss, breathing her in, just as she would for the rest of their lives.


	151. Chapter 151

**Leave me a sweet review to let me know that you read it! Thank you!**

* * *

One particularly lonely night, months after her and Penny's breakup, overcome with old regrets, Callie couldn't bear it any longer. She rolled toward her nightstand and unplugged her charging phone.

She didn't care how late it was. She wanted answers. So she tapped on the first name on her speed dial and put the phone to her ear, listening to the ring and praying that Arizona would pick up. She felt her heart speed up in nervous anticipation. _What am I doing? _Being impulsive, certainly. But even acknowledging that didn't make her hang up.

"Callie?" Arizona picked up on the third ring, a tinge of worry in her tone.

"Hey," Callie breathed. It sounded almost like a sigh of relief—as if, suddenly, at the sound of Arizona's voice, all her pain had abated.

"Hey." Arizona's eyebrows knit together and she set down the newspaper she had been reading. It wasn't like Callie to call so late. Sometimes she called to say goodnight to Sofia, but their daughter had gone to bed hours ago. "Are you okay?"

"Me?" Callie wondered. "I'm…okay."

"Okay…" Arizona waited for Callie to say more.

Callie stayed silent, not sure what to say now that they were actually talking.

"It's, um." Arizona looked down at her watch. "Isn't it two in the morning in New York?" Then, she had a sudden realization: "You're drunk."

"What?" Callie balked.

"Callie, you can't d-"

"No!" Callie quickly interrupted. "Arizona, I'm not drunk! I didn't just drunk-dial you. I know we don't talk too often but…" she paused. "I'm not drunk. That's not why I called."

On the other side of the country, Arizona's lips pursed as she carefully considered her ex-wife's words. She felt on edge, somehow. And simultaneously comforted. It had been years since the divorce, but her feelings for Callie were as big and confusing as ever.

And it was late. And Callie had called her. And she feared that those big feelings were about to become even more confusing. Still, she couldn't help herself. In almost a whisper, she wondered, "Why _did_ you call, then?"

Callie, sitting up in bed now, twisted a loose thread from her quilt around her finger, building up the courage to answer. Finally, she replied with a question of her own: "Do you know what today is?"

Arizona felt her heart accelerate in her chest. _So Callie remembers, too_, she thought. Still, she only sassed, "Saturday?"

"No," Callie sighed, disappointed that Arizona didn't remember. _Not that she should_, she reminded herself. "Well, I mean, yes," she corrected herself, still worrying the thread with her fingers. "Though, technically, it's now Sunday for me," she tried to joke—to hide her pain.

And Arizona saw through the façade. She _knew_ Callie; she knew her inside and out. And, because of that, she heard Callie's pain. And she couldn't bear it.

So she tore down what little was left of her protective walls.

"It is Saturday, but it's not _just_ Saturday," she whispered. "It's also our anniversary."

Callie's eyes shot up from the quilt, her fingers stilling at hearing unexpected words. "You remembered."

Arizona tried to chuckle, and it came out sounding more like a sob. "I don't think it's something I'll ever forget."

Callie hummed in agreement. "Yeah. It's crazy. Seven years."

"Most of which we've spent apart," Arizona regretfully reminded her.

"Right," Callie lamented. "That's even crazier."

Arizona shrugged, hoping that, if she acted indifferent, she'd feel indifferent, too. "We both made our choices."

They were quiet for a moment, each woman thinking of the other, and of their time together, and of the time they'd missed.

Then, Callie prompted, "Arizona?"

"Hmm?"

"Speaking of choices…why did you let me run off with Blake, anyway?" she wondered. "I mean, you were more supportive than anyone else."

"I tried to be," Arizona agreed thoughtfully.

Callie waited.

"I just…I wanted you to have somebody," Arizona continued. "So I was glad when you found someone. Even if it couldn't be me."

"She wasn't you," Callie agreed. Then, her voice turned solemn. "Not even close. That ended up being the problem." She tried to laugh, but her weak attempt was interrupted by the sound of Arizona exhaling a tremulous breath.

"Callie…" Arizona pleaded, though she wasn't sure whether it was for Callie to stop talking or to continue. Maybe a little of both.

"You know that's all I've ever wanted for you, too," Callie continued, her voice gentle. "For you to find someone you can love and trust, and who makes you happy."

"I did," Arizona insisted, forcing herself to take a risk. She trusted Callie, after all. She loved her. And Callie made her happy. "I married her seven years ago."

Callie's pulse began to jackhammer in her ears at those words, and she breathed, "Yeah. Me, too."

Arizona heard the smile in Callie's voice, and that made her brave. "Callie, the only someone I've ever really wanted is you."

This time, it was Callie whose breath caught in her throat. "I want to be yours again," she began. "And I want you. Maybe it's time…" she trailed off, not wanting to make any false assumptions or leave Arizona feeling cornered.

But Arizona felt freer than she had in a long time, and she finished the thought. "Maybe it's time you come home to me."

"Arizona…" Callie breathed, hearing the heavy weight of her ex-wife's words. "I love you, but…" She paused. "If I pack up my stuff right now and get on a plane tomorrow, will you really…take me back? Just like that?"

Arizona's lips curled up. She was amazed how, somehow, Callie still had no idea how much she wanted her, how entirely she loved her and always had. She vowed to spend the rest of her life proving it. "I'll be the woman waiting at your terminal. With open arms."


End file.
